Heath Ledger to possibly win Oscar posthumously

The reviews and speculations surrounding Batman have been hitting the Internet since the trailer came out last December, just a month before Heath Ledger died at 28 from an accidental overdoes. Recently it has been said that Heath's performance as the Joker is one for the record books. "Ledger's performance in the Batman tale The Dark Knight is so remarkable that next January 22, the one-year anniversary of his death, he could become just the seventh actor in Oscar history to earn a posthumous nomination," said the Associated Press.

Usually this is an honor for any actor but this scenario is one surrounded by mixed emotions. Is it right to praise the work of someone who himself body and soul into a role that led him to seek the help of prescription drugs? This is a tricky situation, you don't want to ignore the fact that his performance is extraordinary, but you don't want to give the impression that the dedication Ledger gave to the role of Joker is what must be done to get a thumbs up from Ebert and Roeper.

This role has been one to drive people to the edge before. Jack Nicholson, who played the dark Batman character in 1989, warned Ledger of the dark thoughts that come with the dream role of playing the joker.

In an interview published in the NY Daily News Ledger told reporters that he "slept an average of two hours a night" while playing the "psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy ..."I couldn't stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going."