Heath Ledger "Brokeback Mountain", Ledger costarred with fellow Australian Abbie Cornish in the 2006 Australian film "Candy," an adaptation of the 1998 novel "," as young heroin addicts in love attempting to break free of their addiction, whose mentor is played by Geoffrey Rush; for his performance as sometime poet Dan, Ledger was nominated for three "Best Actor" awards, including one of the Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards, which both Cornish and Rush won in their categories. Shortly after the release of "Candy", Ledger was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. As one of six actors
The Dark Knight (film) of encouraging future superhero films "to take [themselves] far too seriously." The Dark Knight (film) The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed, co-produced, and co-written by Christopher Nolan. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is the second part of Nolan's "The Dark Knight Trilogy" and a sequel to 2005's "Batman Begins", starring an ensemble cast including Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Morgan Freeman. In the film, Bruce Wayne / Batman (Bale), Police Lieutenant James Gordon (Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Eckhart) form an alliance to dismantle