Gary Oldman Foresaw Heath Ledger’s Oscar Triumph for The Joker

Gary Oldman, who continues to rack up Golden Globe nominations—this time for his role as the unorthodox MI5 agent Jackson Lamb in Apple TV’s Slow Horses—has long been considered a national treasure. But beyond his acting chops, Oldman once made a prediction that would prove eerily accurate. Back in 2008, while working alongside Heath Ledger on Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, Oldman foresaw Ledger’s posthumous Oscar win for his portrayal of the Joker.

Oldman’s Remarkable Prediction

Ledger’s performance as the Joker, completed just two months before his untimely death in New York, quickly became the stuff of legend. Even during filming, the cast recognized something extraordinary was happening—Michael Caine reportedly lost his lines, so captivated was he by Ledger’s transformation. When the film premiered six months after Ledger’s passing, Oldman didn’t hold back his admiration.

“I think he will get a posthumous Oscar nomination, and he could win it. It’s as good a performance as anyone out there has turned in. He was brilliant.”

Oldman’s words proved prophetic. Ledger’s family accepted the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on his behalf the following year, along with a Golden Globe.

Ledger’s Lasting Impact

Though Ledger had already earned critical acclaim for his role in Brokeback Mountain, it’s his chilling turn as the Joker that remains his defining legacy. Director Christopher Nolan, accepting the Golden Globe for Ledger, said,

“After Heath passed on, we saw a hole ripped in the future of cinema. ”

Ledger’s Joker is now widely regarded as one of the most memorable and complex villains in film history.

Oldman’s Ongoing Success

Oldman himself is no stranger to awards, finally winning his own Oscar for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour in 2018. Recently, his work on Slow Horses has brought him renewed acclaim, and he’s currently filming the show’s sixth season. In a nod to Ledger’s iconic Joker, the latest season even features a scene where Jackson Lamb references a pencil trick reminiscent of one of the Joker’s most infamous moments.

Looking Ahead

Beyond Slow Horses, Oldman is set to lend his voice to the upcoming video game Squadron 42, now in post-production. He’s also preparing to direct Flying Horse, a biopic about Eadward Muybridge, the 19th-century English photographer who pioneered moving pictures. Muybridge’s groundbreaking work, including the famous ‘horse in motion’ sequence from 1878, laid the foundation for modern cinema—a fitting project for an actor so closely tied to film history’s most unforgettable performances.