Heath Ledger often wandered New York parks at dawn as he battled insomnia

Heath Ledger could be found wandering in New York parks at dawn as he battled insomnia, it was claimed today.

The actor - who was found dead in his New York apartment on Tuesday - sometimes even played chess with strangers, according to one man who befriended him.

Retired city worker Tony Rivera, 52, told US magazine People that he often saw the actor in Manhattan's Washington Square park around dawn.

He said: "He would walk early in the morning - around 6:30 am or 7am."

Mr Rivera, who walks his dog in the park daily at that time, added: "He said he always had trouble sleeping.

"That's why he'd come out so early in the morning."

Mr Rivera said he sometimes saw the actor playing chess at the public tables in the park - and spoke to him about his life.

Mr Rivera added: "He said it was a great thing, being a dad.

"He'd say, 'I'm very tired', and he looked it.

"He didn't seem to be such a good chess player, but I'm not sure."

Ledger, who died aged 28, revealed in a recent interview about how work-related stress gave him insomnia.

During the shooting of his last completed film, The Dark Knight, Ledger told The New York Times in November that he often took the prescribed sleeping aid, Ambien, in an attempt to coax himself into a slumber.

He said: "Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night.

"I couldn't stop thinking. My body was exhausted and my mind was still going." Ledger continued to say that taking one pill had no effect on him. He'd have to take second to fall asleep, only to awake an hour later with his "mind still racing."

Meanwhile friends have said that Ledger was well-known on the Manhattan party scene - and often stayed up all night.

A pal told People magazine: "He partied a lot.

"He didn't really stop partying. At nights when I was going home, he was just starting. He was part of the New York scene."

Another club regular recalls that Ledger would arrive at trendy Manhattan lounge, The Beatrice Inn, at 3:30 am, "and he never left until sunrise."

By Gavin Wilson, Jan 24 2008 © Copyright 2008 - Showbiz Spy