Heath Ledger "Brokeback Mountain" as a nominee for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, the "Los Angeles Times" referred to his presentation as an "apparent gay spoof". Ledger called the "Times" later and explained that his levity resulted from stage fright, saying that he had been told that he would be presenting the award only minutes earlier; he stated: "I am so sorry and I apologise for my nervousness. I would be absolutely horrified if my stage fright was misinterpreted as a lack of respect for the film, the topic and for the amazing filmmakers." Ledger was quoted in
Heath Ledger worked with the actor praised him for his creativity, seriousness and intuition. "I've never felt as old as I did watching Heath explore his talents," "The Dark Knight" director Christopher Nolan has written, expressing amazement over the actor's working process, genuine curiosity and charisma. Marc Forster, who directed Ledger in "Monster's Ball", complimented him as taking the job "very seriously", being disciplined, observant, and understanding and intuitive. In 2007, director Todd Haynes compared Ledger's presence to actor James Dean, casting Ledger as Robbie Clarke, a fictive personification of Bob Dylan in "I'm Not There". Drawing on the similar characteristics between