'Heath was edgy over daughter'
2008-01-24 16:15
Sydney - Australian actor Heath
Ledger, who was found dead in his New York apartment, was edgy
and anxious during his Christmas holidays about not seeing his
daughter Matilda, close friend and model Sophie Ward told local
media.
Ward, sister of supermodel Gemma Ward with whom Ledger had
been reportedly linked, said Ledger was distressed during
holidays in his hometown Perth, worried about his split with
Michelle Williams and their two-year-old daughter.
"He was clean and wasn't drinking any alcohol or taking
drugs," Ward told The West Australian newspaper on Thursday.
Ledger, 28, was found on Tuesday face down and naked
beneath the covers of his bed with sleeping pills and other
prescription medication nearby, New York police said.
Police initially said Ledger may have died from a drug
overdose, but a New York City's medical examiner conducted an
autopsy that proved inconclusive.
Ledger's family said his death was a tragic accident and
Sophie Ward also said she did not believe Ledger took his life.
'I don't believe he took his life deliberately'
"He smoked cigarettes, but that's about it. He was drinking
diet Coke when we were together and he said he was very
committed to not drinking alcohol," she said. "I don't believe
he took his own life deliberately."
But Ward said Ledger was distressed about his split with
Williams and being away from his daughter.
"We went to the movies and just did normal stuff ... but he
was a bit edgy. He couldn't really relax," said Ward.
"He said he was going to London but was quite upset because
he couldn't see his daughter as much as he'd like to. He was
travelling so much and I think he was just frustrated with it
all."
Ledger was best known for playing a gay cowboy in 2005's
Brokeback Mountain, for which he received an Oscar
nomination.
'Sincere actor'
He had completed filming his role as The Joker in
The Dark Knight, a Batman film due out this year.
Ledger and Williams, a co-star in Brokeback Mountain,
split in September and Ledger moved from their Brooklyn home to
an apartment in the SoHo area of Manhattan.
Ledger's death shocked Australia and Hollywood, both
mourning the loss of a young actor with great talent.
"It's heart-breaking... It's a great loss," Ang Lee, who
directed Ledger in Brokeback Mountain, told Reuters in Tokyo.
"He is such a sincere actor."
Australian newspapers ran front-page stories and pictures
on Thursday about Ledger.
Sydney's Daily Telegraph headline
read: "Heath burned candle at both ends ... but what a
Beautiful Flame" and The Sydney Morning Herald's said "The
sleepless stress of a troubled star".
Grieving nation
Both the Herald and national newspaper the Australian gave
Ledger's death more prominence than the US Federal Reserve's
surprise interest rate cut and Australia's stockmarket woes.
"A grieving nation is today waiting to learn of the cause
of the shock death of actor Heath Ledger," said the Telegraph.
Media praised Ledger's acting but highlighted his struggle
with the paparazzi, which drove him from a beachside Sydney
home in 2006 to New York, where he thought he could be
anonymous.
Ledger spent much of December and January with his family
and friends in his hometown Perth on the west Australia coast,
a place where his fame seemed not to follow him, said
newspapers.
Before heading back to the United States Ledger rang the
film editor of the The West Australian newspaper and left a
message thanking the media for leaving him alone, the paper
said.
'It's just been awesome'
"I don't know whether it's a conscious thing or an
unconscious thing, giving me space and respecting my privacy,"
Ledger told the paper. "It's just been awesome."
"I've had the most beautiful time back here and being able
to see all my friends and family ... It's really enabled me to
be a boy again from home and feel like I'd never left," he
said.
"It's truly been an incredibly therapeutic and a
much-needed trip home..."