Heath Ledger Remembered

10 months ago 22nd Jan 10:35

It's expected that the first anniversary of Heath Ledger's death will be marked by the actor receiving a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his role as The Joker in The Dark Knight.

And it's hard to believe that a year has passed since the death of the star from an accidental overdose but what a year it has been.

There was already hype surrounding the release of The Dark Knight and a new actor in the role of The Joker, a part made famous by Jack Nicholson, but all that heightened after Ledger passed away.

That hype turned into major box office success as the film went on to be the biggest grossing movie of 2008 and, with it's re-release this awards season, it looks set to break the $1 billion barrier joining Titanic, The Lord of the Rings Return of the King and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.

You have to applaud every scene that Ledger was in as he took the audiences concept of the Joker and smashed it to pieces. Gone was Nicholson’s comic interpretation of the character replaced instead by a real menace and madness as the Joker lived with no rules robbing and killing simply because he could.

And it's great to see an actor attempt a whole new take on a role that we have become so familiar with. And the critics have also recognised this great performance as Ledger has been awarded a string of posthumous gongs.

While the film has done well in terms of award nominations it's Ledger's performance that has been the toast of the award season with awards from the Golden Globes, Boston Society of Film Critics, Chicago Film Critics Association and Los Angeles Film Critics Association.