Heath Ledger: Gets Oscar nomination on first death anniversary

Heath Ledger: Gets Oscar nomination on first death anniversary

Heath Ledger received an Oscar nomination on the first anniversary of his death.

Ledger, 'The Dark Knight' star, is up for Best Supporting Actor, alongside Josh Brolin (Milk), Robert Downey Jr. (Tropic Thunder); Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt) and Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road).

Many of Heath Ledger's costars predicted he would receive a posthumous nomination.

Heath Ledger himself also thought the role was worthy of awards.

"The minute Heath started doing make-up and wardrobe tests, we realized it was going to be something really special," Dark Knight producer Emma Thomas recently told Entertainment Weekly. "I remember doing a fitting where he put on that pink nurse's dress and he had the Joker's socks on and it changed the way he moved completely. Right from the beginning, people were talking about this as an Oscar-worthy performance."

Said friend Nicola Pecorini: "We joked about [an Oscar nomination]. Heath used to say, ''This time I'm going to give them such a hard time they'll have to cry to get an interview.'' He knew he'd done something special. But he was saying, 'This time Im going to lead the dance.'"

Heath Ledger, who also got a lead acting Oscar nod for 2006's Brokeback Mountain, has been nominated at every major awards show this year for his role as the Joker. He won a Golden Globe earlier this month.

"It's fantastic," costar Aaron Eckhart told Usmagazine.com after his win. It's wonderful. I couldn't be happier!"

On Jan. 22, 2008, the actor died of a prescription drug overdose at his NYC apartment at the age of 28.

"For any of us lucky enough to have worked with him or to have enjoyed his performance, he will be eternally missed," Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan said as he accepted Ledger's Golden Globe award, "but he will never be forgotten."