Advertising

The Seattle Times Company

NWjobs | NWautos | NWhomes | NWsource | Free Classifieds | seattletimes.com

Movies


Our network sites seattletimes.com | Advanced

Originally published Sunday, July 13, 2008 at 12:00 AM

Print

Could Heath Ledger win an Oscar for his role as the Joker in new Batman movie?

If Heath Ledger's performance in "The Dark Knight" lives up to expectations, could he be nominated for an Oscar posthumously?

It's a question lighting up the blogosphere these days: Will Heath Ledger be nominated for — and win — a posthumous Oscar for his performance as the Joker in "The Dark Knight"? Of course, any discussion of the Academy Awards in midsummer is wildly premature, as is discussion of a performance that hardly anyone has seen. But could it happen?

Posthumous acting nominations are rare but not unheard of. Six performers have been nominated for an Academy Award after their deaths: Jeanne Engels for "The Letter" (1928/29), James Dean for "East of Eden" (1955) and "Giant" (1956), Spencer Tracy for "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" (1967), Peter Finch for "Network" (1976), Ralph Richardson for "Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes" (1984) and Massimo Troisi for "The Postman" (1995). Of these, only Finch won the Oscar.

More problematic is the nature of the movie itself: Oscar tends to be a bit snobbish about superhero movies. No actor has ever been nominated for a Batman movie; or, for that matter, a Spider-Man, Superman or X-Men movie, well-acted as they are. And though Robert Downey Jr. is terrific as "Iron Man," nobody's talking Oscar about him.

But Ledger is a previous nominee (for "Brokeback Mountain" in 2005), and academy members may well feel a wave of sentiment for a talented actor too soon gone. Will "The Dark Knight" and Ledger's performance be forgotten by early 2009, or will the Oscar voters find a way of remembering? Time will tell; stay tuned.

Moira Macdonald

Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company

More Movies headlines...

Print      Share:    Digg     Newsvine

advertising

Movie review: 'The Adjustment Bureau': Hats off to a fine fantasy

Movie review: 'Beastly': Fairy-tale misfits who look like models

Movie review: 'Rango': Johnny Depp nails his role as the lizard hero in this wild Western

Movie review: 'Take Me Home Tonight': a big '80s party you may not want to crash

Actor Mickey Rooney tells Congress about abuse

Advertising

Video

Marketplace

 
Most read
Most commented
Most e-mailed
 
 

Most viewed imagesMore

Advertising