NEW YORK (AFP) - Actor Heath Ledger, 28, who rocketed to fame in his role as a gay cowboy in the Oscar-winning movie "Brokeback Mountain," was found dead in his New York residence on Tuesday, police said.

Police sources told US media that prescription pills were found in the apartment and said signs pointed to either an accidental overdose or suicide. His family in his native Australia described the death as "accidental."

"We, Heath's family, can confirm the very tragic, untimely and accidental passing of our dearly loved son, brother and doting father of Matilda," said the actor's father Kim Ledger, reading a statement outside the family home in Perth. "He was found peacefully asleep in his New York apartment."

"He was a down-to-earth, generous, kind-hearted, life-loving, unselfish individual who was extremely inspirational to many."

Ledger was found dead at 3:26 pm (2036 GMT) Tuesday in an apartment in the posh district of SoHo, a New York police spokesman said. Neighbors said Ledger had been renting the loft apartment for the past several months.

An autopsy was scheduled for Wednesday.

New York City deputy police commissioner Paul Browne said a masseuse and a housekeeper discovered the actor's body after the masseuse arrived for an appointment.

They were "waiting for him to come out of the bedroom. When he didn't come out, they checked on him and found the body at the foot of the bed," Browne told reporters.

"There were prescription medications that included sleeping pills that were taken from the apartment. The reports that they were scattered around the body were untrue," said Browne.

"The police department has made no determination as to the cause of death," he said, stressing that police were awaiting the medical examiner's report.

Expressions of sorrow poured in from Sydney to Hollywood.

Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said it was "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.

"The studio is stunned and devastated by this tragic news," Warner Brothers 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."

Kim Ledger said while the family was grateful for the tributes, they wanted to grieve in private.

Ledger, who was nominated for a best actor Oscar for his performance in the 2005 film "Brokeback Mountain," had separated from his former fiancee Michelle Williams in September. The pair, who met on the set of the Ang Lee-directed drama, have a two-year-old daughter, Matilda Rose.

Ledger had been working this month on his latest movie, "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," directed by Terry Gilliam, which was due out next year. He also portrays The Joker in the upcoming Batman movie "Dark Knight."

Lee had hailed Ledger's performance in "Brokeback Mountain" as a "miracle" of acting, reminiscent of a young Marlon Brando.

Ledger missed out on the Oscar for best actor in 2006, but "Brokeback Mountain" won three Academy Awards, including for best director.

The flaxen-haired heartthrob first came to prominence by acting as a homosexual athlete in a little-known Australian soap opera, "Sweat," in 1996.

The creator and writer of the series, John Rapsey, once said it was clear even then that Ledger, then a 16-year-old sports champion and high school dropout, possessed an unusual talent.

"He himself had absolutely no problem playing the role. He handled all of that with great aplomb," Rapsey told AFP.

"What was noticeable about him was he was concentrated, very quiet, and you could see that he was really observant of other people."

Ledger never attended acting school and left his home state of Western Australia for Sydney as a teenager.

"The one thing that's got me to where I'm sitting is my instincts, you know, and I'm impatient. I didn't want to wait for years to work. I wanted to just get out there and do it," he told Australian television in 2001.

At 19, Ledger left Sydney for Hollywood, where his talent was spotted by Mel Gibson when auditioning 500 actors for the role of his son in "The Patriot" -- a break that led to his leading role in "A Knight's Tale."

"I had such great hope for him," Gibson said in a 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."

Emile Sherman, a producer of the 2006 Australian film "Candy" in which Ledger starred, called the actor's death a sad day for the film industry.

"We are missing out on the rest of his career, which no doubt would have been magnificent," Sherman told AFP.

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