As there is a lot of talk about Heath Ledgers death, one thing that has popped up on a lot of peoples minds is whether Heath Ledger would still be able to receive an Oscar award for his performance as The Joker. Can an actor who has passed away receive an Oscar for a movie that was released after they had died?

Hi soj,
I think that is possible , it's a great thing that Heath Ledger to recieve an oscar in his memory . The oscar will be taken by his best friends.

I don't know an answer to this and I've only seen about 2 Oscars and none of them had a similar situation.

one of the talks was The Crow and Brandon Lee being shot (with a faulty prop revolver) before the movie had been released. Im not sure if he was nominated for any awards though

I see. Thanks fo the info. I'll share it with my friends since they probably don't know anything about it.

I see no reason why not, they can always have someone go up and accept it for him.

yeah i think so too... or maybe they will just give it to him in his memory thing, just to honor his death. in my opinion.

Id also safely assume that if he were to win the Oscar, it would be given in his memory. I'm sure they'll do a big tribute for him anyway. But we all still have to see the movie before judging whether his performance was Oscar worthy hahaha

it would be fantastic if he did get it. not only in memory but his just brilliant and fantastic performance as the joker

There have been a number of people nominated for Academy Awards after their death. However, the first person to be nominated posthumously and actually win was screenwriter Sidney Howard for Gone With the Wind (1939). James Dean, on the other hand, has been the only actor to be nominated twice after death; once for Best Actor in East of Eden (1955) and again the following year for Best Actor in Giant (1956).

He should definitely get an oscar. If not for his role as the Joker than for his pure acting ability. It wasn't just The Joker as played by Heath Ledger, it was Dark Knight starring The Joker himself.

yes it is possible to win a oscar after death it is called a posthomous oscar,Brandon Lee got one for the crow as have several other dead actors.

i think he must get the awards...as awards r given for the work done by the person...as joker HEATH did awesome job...and he must get the award for his work...