There were a few people surprised to see Gary Oldman accepting the Best Supporting Actor award at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on behalf of Heath Ledger instead of Christopher Nolan, director of The Dark Knight. Now we know why Oldman was there.
Aside from his acting connection to Ledger, who passed away last year from an accidental drug overdose, in the blockbuster ‘TDK’, a friendship had grown between the two actors. According to SF Gate’s ‘Daily Dish’, this led to Ledger’s parents eventually asking Oldman to accept the award on their son’s behalf. “We went for a wonderful meal with the family in New York, we got on very well,” Oldman explained. “They called and said, ‘Would I pick it up for [Heath] if he won?'”
Oldman’s speech was abrupt, understandably because he was admittedly “quite emotional”, but you could feel his gratitude both for the award and Ledger’s performance.
Oldman, no slouch himself when it comes to character acting, is still amazed by Ledger’s performance as The Joker, stating “As devilishly hard as it looked, I think it was like breathing for Heath. … I was getting to know him and there was a friendship that was developing. Heaven knows what he was going to go on to do.”
We don’t know whether Oldman will again accept the Best Supporting Actor award if Ledger wins an Academy Award. Regardless of who gives the speech, an Oscar win would be a highlight of what has been a bittersweet year for both friends, family and friends of an actor that was just starting to realize his potential.