14 DAY TRIAL // Among the celebrated actors of last night’s Golden Globes, the 2009 edition, was also late actor Heath Ledger, who won an award for his outstanding performance in “The Dark Knight” in the Best Supporting Actor category. A year after his sudden and tragic passing, fellow actors and movie professionals took a minute to remember him during the star-studded ceremony also in honor of his artistry.
The award was presented by stunner Demi Moore, and accepted by the director of the movie, Christopher Nolan, on behalf of Heath’s father, who could not attend the ceremony. However, before Nolan got on stage, a short clip of Heath as the wicked The Joker was displayed on the big screen, being received with standing ovation not only from the audience, but also by the other actors featured in the same category and who did not win.
“All of us who worked with Heath accept this with an awful mixture of sadness and incredible pride. After Heath passed on, you saw a hole ripped in the future of cinema - but with the extraordinary response to his work that we’ve seen all over the world, I, for one, start to be able to look a bit less at that gap in the future and a little bit more at the incredible place in the history of cinema that he built for himself with his talent and with his dedication to his artistry. For any of us lucky enough to work with him or to have enjoyed his performance, he will be eternally missed, but he will never be forgotten.” Nolan said in the acceptance speech.
Even if Heath’s family could not be present at the festivities, Heath’s father, Kim, tells People magazine that the win has certainly surprised and brought them joy, as deserved as it was. “We are overjoyed for him. It’s wonderful.” Kim Ledger added for People.
Below is Christopher Nolan’s acceptance speech for Heath’s posthumous win at the 2009 Golden Globes.