If Heath Ledger were alive...

[fatediesel]

Do you think he would have been getting the awards and acclaim he is for The Dark Knight? I would think his performance would have been applauded, but he would not have been nominated and win as many awards. This is not to say he wouldn't have won a Golden Globe, but I think he would have had a lot tougher job getting an Oscar nomination for a superhero movie. Granted, he hasn't been nominated yet, but it's a given that he will, and he's the favorite to win.

[Crim122]

This is absurd his death has nothing to do with his performance and how great it was

But in all honesty, I think he would have still got the Globe, but the Oscar is going to be a tough one to grasp.

[Blu Titan]

Originally Posted by Crim122

This is absurd his death has nothing to do with his performance and how great it was

But in all honesty, I think he would have still got the Globe, but the Oscar is going to be a tough one to grasp.

I agree with most of your statement. I honestly believe that the Oscar will be for H.L.

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Originally Posted by Crim122

This is absurd his death has nothing to do with his performance and how great it was

But in all honesty, I think he would have still got the Globe, but the Oscar is going to be a tough one to grasp.

I agree with Crimm122..... for once.

I honestly think that he was deserving, and would be if he were still alive, of many awards for his portrayal of the Joker in 'The Dark Knight.' However, as much as he deserves all of the awards, that Oscar will be a tougher crowd to please. The Academy will still only view his performance as a comic book based superhero villain type of role. And those types of performances tend to be quickly shifted to the bottom of the consideration list... unfortunately.

[Blu-Malibu2009]

Originally Posted by Petra_Kalbrain

I agree with Crimm122..... for once.

I honestly think that he was deserving, and would be if he were still alive, of many awards for his portrayal of the Joker in 'The Dark Knight.' However, as much as he deserves all of the awards, that Oscar will be a tougher crowd to please. The Academy will still only view his performance as a comic book based superhero villain type of role. And those types of performances tend to be quickly shifted to the bottom of the consideration list... unfortunately.

What's interesting about that is Bardem's role in No Country was considered unbeatable. It's pretty much the same frickin' type of character. Over the top sinister psychopath. Yet because one is in a Oscar bait movie and the other is in a blockbuster, somehow that is their justification for discriminating against the blockbuster performance. I do think that since Depp was nominated for Pirates, Ledger would have been nominated for TDK even if he lived. His performance was every bit as good as Depp's in Pirates, possibly even better.

Originally Posted by toefer

With a somewhat weak supporting actor field (read: two of the nominees were from Trophic Thunder), it's no surprise that Heath won. However, had this been last year -- and had he not died -- I don't think Ledger would've beaten Javier Bardem.

Yes, he probably wouldn't have beaten Bardem. But it would've been just further proof of the snobbiness that goes on at the Oscars. As I said, same quality of performance, same type of role, yet one is "unbeatable" and the other isn't even taken seriously. That is a big steaming pile of hypocrisy. Either you treat all over the top psycho villains the same and don't respect any of them or you respect them all equally based on the merit of the performance regardless of the source material. Ledger was every bit as good as Bardem. Scratch that, he was better than Bardem. And I loved Bardem's performance.

[nick1091]

It seems to me like the question the OP posted and some of the responses are dealing with two different matters.

I don't think the OP was saying that Ledger's performance was not deserving of a nomination. The question was whether it would've gotten that recognition had he not passed away. I think this year he likely would've been nominated for an award, due to the relatively "light" crop of best supporting actors this year, but winning so many as he did is not such a clear cut answer.

My gut reaction is that he probably would not have. There has been a stigma against comic book films for quite a while, and while the performances in TDK did a lot to break the proverbial barriers, actually winning as opposed to being nominated is still quite a mountain to climb.

[Marine Mike]

Originally Posted by fatediesel

Do you think he would have been getting the awards and acclaim he is for The Dark Knight? I would think his performance would have been applauded, but he would not have been nominated and win as many awards. This is not to say he wouldn't have won a Golden Globe, but I think he would have had a lot tougher job getting an Oscar nomination for a superhero movie. Granted, he hasn't been nominated yet, but it's a given that he will, and he's the favorite to win.

He has only won 1 award from the Golden Globes.

[fatediesel]

Originally Posted by Marine Mike

He has only won 1 award from the Golden Globes.

He has won awards from the Chicago Film Critics Association, Boston Society of Film Critics, Los Angeles Film Critics, Southeast Film Critics, Toronto Film Critics, and Washington DC Film Critics. Most other shows haven't been held yet. So I think that's more than 1.

[Blu-Benny]

his performance was great, no matter what happend after his unfortunate passing. you can't take that away no matter what.

[Sussudio]

imo his death had very little to do with the acclaim the film reached. it was his PERFORMANCE above anything else that brought people to theaters (especially after seeing that first trailer), and his performance that won him the golden globe and likely the oscar.

[plowmanjoe]

it's kind of hard to dispute him deserving the awards or not. people will just say you're insensitive if you think he didn't deserve the awards.

his death definitely didn't hurt the dark knight's acclaim.

[amtctt]

Generally speaking, the death will have heart his chances at getting the Oscar. There's only been, what, 1 posthumous oscar i think, Peter Finch for network? I think the academy likes when people "campaign" for their awards, not always, but it certainly seems that way.

[PreciseDisarray]

Sure that is something to think about but IMO, his performance was disturbingly perfect. I easily believed the psychosis of The Joker in TDK. Chilling.
Ledger deserves whichever awards are bestowed upon him- alive or not.

[BluLobsta]

Something to ponder...Jack Nicholson was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actor for his portrayal of The Joker in Batman (1989), but ended up losing to Morgan Freeman in Driving Miss Daisy. The role of The Joker is definitely award-worthy, and views have indeed changed in 20 years, so who is to say that Heath Ledger cannot break some barriers. I personally think he can...

[JurassicMass88]

Originally Posted by BluLobsta

Something to ponder...Jack Nicholson was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actor for his portrayal of The Joker in Batman (1989), but ended up losing to Morgan Freeman in Driving Miss Daisy. The role of The Joker is definitely award-worthy, and views have indeed changed in 20 years, so who is to say that Heath Ledger cannot break some barriers. I personally think he can...

The question to ask is: If Jack Nicholson had died after filming Batman, do you think he would have won the Golden Globe for Best Actor? Oscar nomination/win?

[Variable]

the most his death could have done is throw more attention on the film. It can't make it better or make his performance better.

it was all there, his death may have shown a spotlight on it and forced different groups to take notice.

[Blu-Malibu2009]

Originally Posted by JurassicMass88

The question to ask is: If Jack Nicholson had died after filming Batman, do you think he would have won the Golden Globe for Best Actor? Oscar nomination/win?

This is different. Nicholson was already awarded at the time he did Batman whereas Ledger was a young actor coming into his prime who was seen as a lock to win an Oscar at some point, which is precisely why a lot of people didn't vote for him for Brokeback. "Oh he's young, he'll get one at some point" was their logic.

And there's the other issue that Nicholson was still very recognizable in that role whereas Ledger literally transformed into it. For a silly comic book role, you've got to go beyond just a "good, entertaining" performance like Nicholson's. Ledger pulled off a tour de force of method acting.

[kpkelley]

Originally Posted by Marine Mike

He has only won 1 award from the Golden Globes.

He's also won the following:

Boston Society of Film Critics Award
Chicago Film Critics Association Award
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award
Southeastern Film Critics Association Award
Toronto Film Critics Association Award
Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Award

And been nominated in the following:

Australian Film Institued - International Award
London Critics Cirle Film Awards
Satellite Awards
Screen Actors Guild Awards

[AaronSCH]

Originally Posted by fatediesel

Do you think he would have been getting the awards and acclaim he is for The Dark Knight? I would think his performance would have been applauded, but he would not have been nominated and win as many awards. This is not to say he wouldn't have won a Golden Globe, but I think he would have had a lot tougher job getting an Oscar nomination for a superhero movie. Granted, he hasn't been nominated yet, but it's a given that he will, and he's the favorite to win.

I'd have to agree. In fact, I don't think "The Dark Knight" would have done quite as well either. It would certainly have been a hit regardless, but the press his death received and the film being his last completed performance certainly played a part in luring the curious. Personally, as good as he was as "The Joker," I wasn't as mesmerized by the film and his performance as most people.

[Pelican170]

Originally Posted by AaronSCH

I'd have to agree. In fact, I don't think "The Dark Knight" would have done quite as well either. It would certainly have been a hit regardless, but the press his death received and the film being his last completed performance certainly played a part in luring the curious. Personally, as good as he was as "The Joker," I wasn't as mesmerized by the film and his performance as most people.

I agree completely, the movie is ok, good for a comic I suppose...