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World in shock at Ledger's death
23/01/2008 09:55 - (SA)
Los Angeles - Hollywood legend Mel Gibson led the tributes to Heath Ledger on Tuesday after the talented young Australian actor was found dead in New York.
Oscar-winning actor-director Gibson - who cast Ledger to play his son in 2001's US war of independence epic The Patriot - described the 28-year-old actor's death as "tragic" in a statement.
"I had such great hope for him," Gibson said in the statement. "He was just taking off and to lose his life at such a young age is a tragic loss. My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family."
Australian screen star Nicole Kidman echoed Gibson's comments in a statement released to syndicated US television entertainment show Extra.
"What a tragedy. My heart goes out to his family," Kidman said.
Hollywood star John Travolta, in Australia to attend a benefit dinner, described Ledger as "one of my favourite actors."
"His abilities are rare...it's a tremendous loss," Travolta told Extra. "It's hard to be here celebrating Australia under these circumstances."
Studio giants Warner Bros said the entertainment industry had lost a "brilliant actor and an exceptional person."
'Stunned and devastated'
Ledger, the Oscar-nominated star of gay cowboy drama Brokeback Mountain, had recently completed filming on Warners' upcoming summer blockbuster The Dark Knight, in which he plays Batman's arch-foe the Joker.
"The studio is stunned and devastated by this tragic news," Warner Bros chief Alan Horn and Warner Bros Picture Group president Jeff Robinov said in a statement.
"The entertainment community has lost an enormous talent. Heath was a brilliant actor and an exceptional person. Our hearts go out to his family and friends."
In Australia, the prime minister Kevin Rudd led tributes to the boy from Perth.
"It is tragic that we have lost one of our nation's finest actors in the prime of his life. Heath Ledger's diverse and challenging roles will be remembered as some of the great performances by an Australian actor," he said in a statement.
"Our thoughts are with Heath's family and close friends, especially his two-year old daughter Matilda."
Members of the Australian film industry, which nurtured Ledger from his early days in television soaps until his recent performances in gritty drama, were also trying to come to terms with the news of the young star's death.
'Beautiful soul'
Neil Armfield, who directed Ledger in the Australian film Candy about a romance between two drug addicts, described Ledger as a powerful actor.
"He was always a complex and complicated man to work with but... just a master... just so passionately concerned to get it right," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
Film critic Margaret Pomeranz said the death of the actor, who previously dated Hollywood stars Heather Graham and fellow Australian Naomi Watts, was shocking.
"I am so upset, I just can't tell you," she told ABC radio.
"I mean he is such a talented boy and really, I think a beautiful soul.
"I think to choose the roles he's chosen showed just such intelligence."
Ledger was also praised by fellow Australian actor Samuel Johnson.
"His portrayal of The Joker in the new Batman was going to rival Jack Nicholson's in the original," he said.
"I'm distraught about this... I think we've lost one of the best young actors Australia's produced - if not the best."
Ledger was found dead in a New York residence earlier on Tuesday.
Police sources told US media that prescription pills were found near the body and that signs pointed to either an accidental overdose or suicide.
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South Africa
