NEW YORK - January 22 - Actor Heath Ledger, the gifted leading man acclaimed for his role as a gay cowboy in the film Brokeback Mountain, was found dead in his Manhattan apartment on Tuesday, possibly of a drug overdose, police said.

The Australian-born Ledger, 28, was found face down and naked at the foot of the bed by a housekeeper at his apartment in the SoHo neighborhood, police spokesman Paul Browne said.