Nicole Kidman And Mel Gibson Mourn Ledger Loss

Nicole Kidman, Mel Gibson and the Australian Prime Minister are amongst the public figures who have spoken publicly about the tragic loss of actor Heath Ledger.

The Brokeback Mountain star was found dead at his apartment in New York on Tuesday following a suspected drug overdose.

"What a tragedy," Kidman said in a brief statement released to the press. "My heart goes out to his family."

Gibson, who played the actor's father in The Patriot, states, "I had such great hope for him. He was just taking off, and to lose his life at such a young age is a tragic loss."

Meanwhile the Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, has issued a statement, labelling Ledger one of Australia’s “finest” actors.  

“It was with great sadness that I have learned of the passing of Heath Ledger" reads the statement. "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."

Movie producer Clint Morris has also revealed that Ledger's death – which he labels a “deep shock” -  will present problems for Batman producers - because the actor had already signed on to reprise his role as The Joker in the follow-up to this summer's The Dark Knight.

"I guess they can easily re-write it or re-cast” claims Morris. “But yes, it's true, Heath was supposed to return in the next Batman movie."

Ledger was reportedly found naked in his bed by the maid and the masseuse with pills scattered across his body.

Paramedics attempted to perform CPR on the actor, however he was later pronounced dead at the scene.

U.S. website, TMZ.com, are also quoting a source who suggests that Ledger had a long running substance abuse problem.