Heath Ledger's AFI Award May Lead To Oscar Nod

THE posthumous award bestowed on Heath Ledger by the Australian Film Institute (AFI) today (Sat, Dec 6) will probably spark off a series of other international awards leading up to an Academy nomination for the late Aussie actor.

Reuters reported that Ledger was awarded one of his country's most prestigious film awards for his final role as The Joker in the Batman movie 'The Dark Knight'.

Ledger, 28, died of an accidental overdose of painkillers and other medicines in his New York apartment 11 months ago. He was awarded the AFI International Award for Best Actor for a role that was acclaimed by both critics and moviegoers as main attractions of 'The Dark Knight', a sequel to the 2005 hit, 'Batman Begins'.

Personally, I think Ledger deserves at least an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor that defining role (read my review here). His influence among Hollywood circles may spur the momentum for him to be voted for an Oscar, I hope.


Ledger garnered world attention when he starred as a gay guy and kissed Jake Gyllenhaal in Ang Lee's 'Brokeback Mountain' in 2005 (above).