There is talk of offering Heath Ledger an Oscar for his role as the Joker in The Dark Knight. By now you’ve probably read all of the buzz, and while I was absolutely stunned (and a little bit haunted) by Ledger’s performance, I don’t know if he should win an Oscar for it.

Yes, the role was intense. Yes, he played it to perfection, making Jack Nicholson’s Joker look, well, about as credible as…let’s not even go there. Obviously, Ledger had to go to a very dark place to be able to play the part (as evidenced by the sheer number of sleeping aids his psychiatrist and doctors prescribed to him after he finished filming). But for me, giving him a posthumous Oscar would be akin to awarding Johnny Depp an Oscar for his role in Pirates of the Caribbean…and Depp is one of my all time favorite actors.

I know that the Oscars are political and there are a lot of people who are pounding a “Heath was awesome!” pulpit, but to me Oscars aren’t for over the top roles, no matter how perfectly they were played. I’d say that he was robbed in 2006—when he had to play a real person going through a real struggle. To me, Oscars should be awarded to people whose performances go so deep that you forget there is an actor playing a role on the screen in front of you. Maybe that happened for you with The Dark Knight.

Heath Ledger was an amazing actor—something I would not have guessed after my first viewing of 10 Things I Hate About You. After watching The Dark Knight I felt a deep sadness at not being able to see what else he can pull off, but I do not know if The Joker is an Oscar worthy role.

What do you think?

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