A New York Police Department spokesman said Tuesday that actor Heath Ledger only twenty eight years old has been found dead at a downtown Manhattan residence. Police told The Associated Press that drugs may have been a factor.

Ledger’s roles included the suicidal son of Billy Bob Thornton in “Monster’s Ball” and he had starring roles in “A Knight’s Tale” and “The Patriot.” He was to appear as the Joker this year in “The Dark Knight,” a sequel to 2005’s “Batman Begins.”