《斷背山》男主角希斯•萊杰身亡

Heath Ledger was found dead Tuesday at a downtown Manhattan apartment, naked in bed with sleeping pills nearby. The Australian-born actor was 28. The reason was not clear yet.

He had an appointment for a massage at a residence in the tony neighborhood of SoHo, NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said. A housekeeper who went to let him know the massage therapist had arrived found him dead at 3:26 p.m.

"We are all deeply saddened and shocked by this accident," Ledger's publicist, Mara Buxbaum, said in a statement Tuesday night. "This is an extremely difficult time for his loved ones and we are asking the media to please respect the family's privacy and avoid speculation until the facts are known."

The medical examiner's office planned an autopsy Wednesday, spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said.

Ledger was nominated for an Oscar for his performance as a gay cowboy in "Brokeback Mountain," where he met Michelle Williams, who played his wife in the film. The two had a daughter, Matilda, and lived together in Brooklyn until they split up last year.

Ledger most recently appeared in "I'm Not There," in which he played one of the many incarnations of Bob Dylan.

He's had starring roles in "A Knight's Tale" and "The Patriot," and played the suicidal son of Billy Bob Thornton in "Monster's Ball."

"I had such great hope for him," said Mel Gibson, who played Ledger's father in "The Patriot," in a statement. "He was just taking off and to lose his life at such a young age is a tragic loss."

Ledger was born in 1979 in Perth, in western Australia, to a mining engineer and a French teacher, and got his first acting role playing Peter Pan at age 10 at a local theater company.

澳大利亞籍影星希斯•萊杰（譯者注：電影《斷背山》男主角）于本周二被發現死于曼哈頓的家中，年僅28歲。萊杰被發現時全身赤裸地躺在床上，身旁有一些安眠藥片。目前他的死因尚未確定。

紐約警察局發言人保爾•布朗尼說，當天萊杰約了一位按摩師來其位于高級SoHo區的家中按摩。但當他的管家去通知他按摩師已到訪時，發現他已經死亡，當時的時間是下午3點26分。

萊杰的經紀人馬拉•巴克斯鮑姆在本周二晚發表的一份聲明中說：“我們對萊杰的突然離去感到十分悲痛和震驚。此時他的親人一定非常痛苦，我們已請求媒體尊重他們的隱私，在事情沒弄清楚之前，不要無根據地猜測。”

紐約警察局女發言人艾倫•波拉科維說，監察醫務院將于本周三對萊杰進行尸檢。

希斯•萊杰曾在電影《斷背山》中飾演一名同性戀牛仔，并因此獲得奧斯卡獎提名。后來，他與片中飾演其妻子的米歇爾•威廉姆斯相戀，并與其育有一女瑪蒂爾達。兩人一直住在布魯克林區，直到去年分手。

萊杰最近出演的一部電影是《我不在場》，他在片中飾演具有多重人格的鮑勃•迪倫的一種化身。

他曾主演影片《圣戰騎士》和《愛國者》，并在《死囚之舞》中飾演了主人公（比利•鮑勃•湯頓飾演）自殺身亡的兒子。

在《愛國者》中飾演萊杰父親的梅爾•吉布森在一份聲明中說：“我對他寄予了厚望。他的事業正處于上升期，英年早逝實在是悲痛的損失。”

萊杰于1979年出生于澳大利亞西部的泊思市，他的父親是一名開礦工程師，母親是一位法語教師。萊杰十歲那年在當地一家劇團獲得了他的第一個角色比特•潘。