Posthumous Rewards for Aussie Talent
an extract from Robert Cettl's book Australian Film Tales (coming soon)
In the history of the Academy Awards there has only been one posthumous Best Actor award. To an Aussie: Peter Finch. Finch had battled his way through the hardships of the doldrums of the Australian film industry in the 1950s and 1960s and with perseverance born of impeccable talent broke through into British film and American film and a presence as a world-class actor. The American Academy Awards recognized his talent and nominated him for his sterling work on Network. However, Finch died. His death, however, did not discourage the Academy and Finch won the coveted Best Actor award, posthumously. At time of writing, another actor is rumoured to win a posthumous award. He is another Aussie: Heath Ledger, whose performance as villain The Joker in the Batman film The Dark Knight mesmerized critics and audiences alike. Ledger died of an accidental drug overdose some time before the film was debuted and in the meantime the myth machine went to work and the Aussie actor was awarded press attention the likes of which was rarely seen. In the wake of such, The Dark Knight opened to the biggest box-office taking in American film history. The reason was said to be the Aussie actor’s last brilliant performance.
Postscript: at the Academy awards for 2008, Heath Ledger did in fact win a posthumous Oscar.
Wider Screenings DVD Attractions Trailer
(courtesy of YouTube embedded video)