Gary Oldman’s Uncanny Foresight: Ledger’s Oscar Triumph Foretold

Gary Oldman, now a regular fixture on awards shortlists, has once again been recognised for his portrayal of the shambolic MI5 agent Jackson Lamb in Apple TV’s Slow Horses. His status as a national treasure is well established, but there’s another, lesser-known story: his remarkable knack for spotting greatness before the rest of us catch on. While he may not actually possess psychic abilities, Oldman did, in fact, foresee Heath Ledger’s Academy Award for his turn as the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight back in 2008. Having shared the set as Commissioner Jim Gordon, Oldman witnessed Ledger’s transformation up close.

Ledger’s performance, completed just two months before his untimely death in New York, has since become the stuff of legend. Even during filming, the impact was clear—Michael Caine, for instance, was so taken aback by Ledger’s presence that he reportedly forgot his lines. When the film eventually reached audiences, Oldman was quick to voice 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.”

His words proved prescient, as Ledger was posthumously awarded both the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor and a Golden Globe, honours collected by his family.

Ledger’s Lasting Impact

Though Ledger had already made waves with his role in Brokeback Mountain, earning several Best Actor nominations, it is his portrayal of the Joker that remains his defining legacy. The character, both menacing and magnetic, is now widely regarded as one of the most memorable villains in film history. Christopher Nolan, accepting the Golden Globe on Ledger’s behalf, remarked,

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

Oldman himself is no stranger to accolades, having finally secured his own Oscar for Best Leading Actor with his depiction of Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour in 2018, after three nominations. His career continues to flourish, with Slow Horses drawing both critical and popular acclaim.

Tributes and New Directions

The latest series of Slow Horses even features a subtle nod to Ledger’s Joker, as Oldman’s character references headbutting a pencil on a table—a clear wink to one of the most infamous scenes from Nolan’s film. Beyond his television work, Oldman is set to lend his voice to the much-anticipated video game Squadron 42, currently in post-production.

He is also preparing to step behind the camera for Flying Horse, a biographical drama about Eadward Muybridge. Muybridge, a pioneering English photographer from the 19th century, developed techniques that allowed for the creation of moving images from still photographs. His most famous work, the ‘horse in motion’ series from 1878, is considered a milestone in the history of cinema.