Many of those approached to comment on the sudden death of Heath Ledger were too distraught to speak. But all are in agreement on the magnitude of the loss.
Perhaps avoiding the obvious questions awaiting her, Naomi Watts has canceled all her press appearances for Wednesday at the Sundance Film Festival, where her dark comedy Funny Games is slated to premiere at midnight.
She and Ledger met on the set of Ned Kelly in 2002 and dated for nearly two years. The late actor accompanied her to the Academy Awards in 2004, when she was up for Best Actress for 21 Grams.
A rep for Michelle Williams, Ledger's ex-fiancée and mother of his two-year-old daughter, Matilda, declined immediate comment. The 27-year-old actress was reportedly on location in Sweden when she heard the news and a close friend has told several outlets that Williams is "devastated."
Ledger, who was known more as a teen heartthrob before his breakout, Oscar-nominated turn in Brokeback Mountain three years ago, was found dead Tuesday in his New York apartment. The cause of death is unknown, but police are speculating that drugs were involved because sleeping pills were found near the body. An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday.
Although it's unclear what exactly happened, those close to Ledger have insisted upon referring to his passing as accidental.
"We are all deeply saddened and shocked by this accident," Ledger's publicist, Mara Buxbaum, said in a statement Tuesday night. "This is an extremely difficult time for his loved ones and we are asking the media to please respect the family's privacy and avoid speculation until the facts are known."
"Heath's family confirms the very tragic, untimely and accidental passing of our dearly loved son, brother and doting father of Matilda. He was found peacefully asleep in his New York apartment by his housekeeper at 3:30 p.m. U.S. time," Kim Ledger, the actor's father, said in a video statement to Australian TV.
"We would like to thank our friends and everyone around the world for their well wishes and kind thoughts at this time. Heath has touched so many people on so many different levels during his short life but few had the pleasure of truly knowing him.
"He was a down to earth, generous, kind-hearted, life-loving and selfless individual who was extremely inspirational to many. Please now respect our families need to grieve and come to terms with our loss privately."
Grief will no doubt be expressed in different ways as the details surrounding Ledger's death continue to unfold.
"The studio is stunned and devastated by this tragic news," Warner Bros. execs Alan Horn and Jeffery Robinov said of the 28-year-old Aussie, who had recently wrapped the studio's Batman sequel, The Dark Knight, and was already winning raves for his reincarnation of the Joker.
"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."
I'm Not There director Todd Haynes, who helmed Ledger's performance as one of six incarnations of Bob Dylan in the unconventional biopic, called his death "an unimaginable tragedy.
"Heath was a true artist, a deeply sensitive man, an explorer, gifted and wise beyond his years. There was no finer person on this earth,” the filmmaker said in a statement.
James Schamus, CEO of Focus Features and a producer on Brokeback Mountain, got to know the actor during the filming of Ang Lee's at-first controversial—and then merely critically acclaimed—romance epic.
"Heath Ledger was a courageous actor, and a great soul," Schamus said in a statement. "He gave us the gift of sharing his fearless and beautiful love—of his craft, and of all who worked with him—for which all of us will be eternally grateful."
Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan shared similar thoughts about Ledger's acting prowess earlier this month, saying the young thespian wasn't afraid to fully immerse himself in a challenging role.
"It was a very great challenge for Heath," Nolan said of Ledger's role as the Joker, the modern-day incarnation of which was originated by Jack Nicholson in 1989. "He's extremely original, extremely frightening, tremendously edgy. A very young character, a very anarchic presence that taps into a lot of our basic fears and panic."
And the role apparently took its toll on Ledger, whose character the actor described as a "psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy."
"Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night," Ledger told the New York Times in November. "I couldn't stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going." He said that he took two Ambien to sleep, but that they only worked for about an hour.
"I had such great hope for him," Mel Gibson, who played Ledger's father in the Revolutionary War drama The Patriot, said in a statement to E! News. "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."
Shortly after news of Ledger's death broke, hundreds of people swarmed around the SoHo apartment building where he lived, both people from the neighborhood and fans who immediately hopped on the subway to visit the scene.
(Originally published Jan. 22, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. PT)