Heath Ledger posthumously awarded a Golden Globe

The Australian actor – who died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs last January, aged just 28 – won the award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of villain The Joker in the Batman blockbuster.

Heath Ledger was posthumously awarded a Golden Globe Award for his performance in The Dark Knight yesterday evening (11.01.09).

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The Australian actor – who died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs last January, aged just 28 – won the award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of villain The Joker in the Batman blockbuster.

The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan accepted the accolade on Heath’s behalf, making an emotional speech while the star-studded audience gave a standing ovation.

He said: “On behalf of all of us who worked with Heath on The Dark Knight, I accept this with mix of sadness and incredible pride. He will be eternally missed but he will never be forgotten.”

The Ledger family did not attend the ceremony for “personal reasons”, but his father Kim insisted they were there in spirit.

Kim said: “We are overjoyed for him. It’s wonderful.”

Also celebrating success at the ceremony, which was held at The Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, was Mickey Rourke who won the Best Actor in a Drama prize for his portrayal of a down-and-out grappler in The Wrestler. The 56-year-old actor told a cheering crowd: “It’s been a very long road back for me.”

It was also a big night for British actress Kate Winslet, who took home two statuettes for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in The Reader and Best Actress in a Drama for Revolutionary Road.

She paid tribute to her Revolutionary Road co-star Leonardo DiCaprio – who she first starred with 1997’s Titanic – in her acceptance speech, saying: “Leo, I am so happy I can stand here and tell you I love you, and have for 13 years.”

Complete list of 2009 Golden Globe winners:

Film:

Best Picture, drama: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Picture, musical or comedy: Vicky Christina Barcelona

Best Actor, drama: Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Best Actress, drama: Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road

Best Director: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

Best Actor, musical or comedy: Colin Farrell, In Bruges

Best Actress, musical or comedy: Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky

Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

Best Supporting Actress: Kate Winslet, The Reader

Best Foreign Language Film: Waltz With Bashir

Best Animated Film: Wall-E

Best Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire

Best Original Score: A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire

Best Original Song: The Wrestler, Bruce Springsteen, The Wrestler

Cecil B. DeMille Award: Steven Spielberg

TV:

Best Series, drama: Mad Men

Best Actor, drama: Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment

Best Actress, drama: Anna Paquin, True Blood

Best Series, musical or comedy: 30 Rock

Best Actor, musical or comedy: Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock

Best Actress, musical or comedy: Tina Fey, 30 Rock

Best Miniseries or Movie: John Adams

Best Actor, miniseries or movie: Paul Giammatti, John Adams

Best Actress, miniseries or movie: Laura Linney, John Adams

Best Supporting Actor: Tom Wilkinson, John Adams

Best Supporting Actress: Laura Dern, Recount