If Heath had pneumonia, and his lungs were filled with water, it's very possible -- probable, even -- that the sleeping pills slowed his breathing to the point he simply stopped.

where are these links??

No, he was pretty much becoming a method actor. It's very well documented that he really isolated himself to understand and come up with the character of Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain. He may have done just about the same with the Joker.

My new Facebook profile pic.

The shock has faded off, but that doesn't make it any less sadder. A truly promising talent.

I also hope Joker's role didn't play any part in the potential cause of this tragedy. This already reminded me of Leslie Cheung, who committed suicide (on April 1st, of all date, sending a shock wave through Asian community who grew up watching his films) and were suspected of similar influence from his final role in Inner Senses.

I was completely shocked and saddened to hear this. He was a very talented actor that will be sorely missed. What a terrible terrible loss.

This is sooo shocking.
May he R.I.P.

like everyone else has said, a truly gifted and promising actor who should have had more time to prove his abilities...
He will be missed.

WOW!!!!!!! This is like the most shocking death of a celebrity (other than Princess Diana) that I had heard of....

the girl next to me in my class got a text from one of her friends about this and she told me about it. I couldn't believe it.

My prayers are with his family and friends.

I find it very hard to believe he killed himself, very very hard. Here are the facts. The man had trouble sleeping and was dead with a bunch of sleeping pills around him. Do the math. Accident or not its anyones guess, but stop jumping to conclusions.

He said in interviews he was doing different kinds of pills to fall asleep and nothing worked; looks like he just took the wrong combo or too much.

EDIT: There is no way it was suicide; he was just filming a movie last week

For the films its obviously a bad situation, the Joker was going to be sold as the character to see and remember in 2008 and now it undoubtedly will be; however its impossible to tell how much is too much.

This news is absolutely devastating. I think I'm going to cry.

Owens Wilson slit his wrists, that doesnt happen by accident.

I find it hard to believe because he stated in interviews he was taking different kinds of pills he mentioned by name to help sleep but nothing was working. I think in his efforts to fall asleep he over did, that is the logical conclusion. Suicide is jumping to conclusions.

I'm still so devastated by this...maybe working out will help a little bit.

WTF

I honestly can't believe this. This is shocking. Heath Ledger was a very talented actor and he will greatly be missed.

RIP HEATH LEDGER

The more I think about it, the less surprised I am. He always has been a bit of oddball, a lot like a young Johnny Depp. Handsome and overflowing with talent but taking more wierd and diverse rolls. Smoked lots of cigs, drank lots of alcohol at times, but not into partying, a lot more private about and god knows what can go on in a mans head when hes by himself and is fucked up. His entire attitude just screamed "fuck it" from the holding up a sign saying "fuck off" to the paparazzi to all the wierd shit I saw him doing on the set of the dark knight this past summer, it isnt that surprising to me honestly.

I already feel like I miss this guy. I know that sounds weird.

Why does shit like this have to happen?

I find myself really hoping now that the Oscars run as usual, so that Heath Ledger can get some sort of publicized memoriam, among his acting peers no less.

Peace,
Mike

R.I.P.

Though I know it doesn't really affect me, I'm really sad right now. It's just shocking and depressing all in one.

I think we are all feeling that Mike. I didn't know this man, and he wasn't someone I thought of on a daily basis, but I still can't shake the feeling that SOMETHING is missing out there.

I think Heath had truly become one of THE actors of our generation. Someone we looked up to in regards to their impressive talent and solid choice of work. He seemed like a grounded, intelligent guy. The peripherals were all there - good looking, strong sense of style. He had good taste and was with a great woman for a long period of time. There was so much RIGHT about him. Ever since I saw 10 Things I Hate About You sometime in middle school, Heath was always someone I enjoyed watching and I always looked forward to his next movie, even if it was otherwise not very appealing.

He is missed now, and will be for a long time. The Dark Knight is going to be a very difficult experience.

this is absolutely fuckin' horrible. When I told people about this at school, half of them had respectable reactions, and the other half immediately asked if they finished The Dark Knight, and were relieved that they had

Holy shit! I hadn't heard anything about this. I just got in and came here to tell loyal that we are now officially brothers in arms as of about an hour ago, and then I saw this.

That's a terrible tragedy, especially with the level of talent he had as an actor, and being right on the verge of the strong possibility of becoming a headliner. I mean, I really don't know if that's true, and I don't follow movies very much anymore (haven't seen a film since Fantastic Four 2), but Heath Ledger really struck me as somebody with serious acting chops, and I thought the sky was the limit for him.

I was in total shock when I heard the news. My first reaction was disbelief, and honestly my second thought was towards yes The Dark Knight and if it would be finished as horrible as that sounds. Of course one is only human, but because I am human of course I feel saddened.

Yet at the same time one might ask, how come we feel so sad for Ledger when young promising fathers die young every day, my own uncle was one of those people, but when you hear it in the news people just pass it off.

Is it because we feel like we were robbed of art?
Is it because we feel like we knew the person?

This is just my opinion, so don't be offended...

I know there's that Oscar sentiment of him being recognized by his peers so the show going on is important, but they shouldn't have to wait to dress up in expensive clothes, have camera's on them, to acknowledge that they lost alot of great people this past year. The Oscars are all great and all, but sad events like this show just how trivial they are and how important life is. We spend so much time on the artificiality of Hollywood, that it puts enormous pressure on those within the industry, often beyond their limits. We hear about all the happy times, the scandals, whatever sells. We buy into that. But when people are so needy of celebrities, they don't always come to the realization that they're people too, and need help and support too with their personal issues. It's hard for them to acknowledge their problems and seek the help that they need, when they are pressured to be perfect...

Are you watching Nancy Grace? When did Tom O'Neill become an expert on human behavior? Agh.

You know now that i think of it, no one would have given a shit in fanboy circles about his death if he wasn't playing joker in TDK.