Heath Ledger - contributed

(ap) new york

Heath Ledger was found dead Tuesday at a downtown Manhattan residence in a possible drug-related death, police said. He was 28.

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said Ledger had an appointment for a massage at the Manhattan apartment believed to be his home. The housekeeper who went to let Ledger know the masseuse was there found him dead at 3:26 p.m.

The Australian-born actor was an Oscar nominee for his role in Brokeback Mountain and has numerous other screen credits including The Patriot, Monster's Ball, A Knight's Tale, Ned Kelly, The Order, and The Brothers Grimm and 10 Things I Hate About You.

Ledger was engaged to actress Michelle Williams, whom he met on the set of Brokeback Mountain. They have a daughter, Matilda Rose, who was born on October 28, 2005.

He is appearing in the next instalment of the Batman movie opposite Christian Bale as the infamous 'Joker' and was in the midst of filming The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, reports CBS station WCBS-TV in New York.

In 2001, he won a ShoWest Award for the Male Star of Tomorrow based on his performance in The Patriot, and worldwide release of A Knight's Tale. In 2003, he was named one of Australian GQ's Men of the Year for acting.