Footage resurfaces of celebrities' reaction when Heath Ledger won an Oscar after he died | CPT PPP Coverage

Resurfaced footage shows the heartbreaking reaction from the room when Heath Ledger won an Oscar after his passing.

On 22 January 2008, Ledger died at the age of 28 after accidentally overdosing on prescription painkillers while The Dark Knight was in the final stages of production.

Ledger’s father Kim Ledger, his mother Sally Bell and older sister Kate Ledger went up on stage to collect the award on the Brokeback Mountain star’s behalf.

During the acceptance speech, Kim said the Oscar would have been validation of his son’s ‘quiet determination to be truly accepted’ by his fellow Hollywood stars.

The speeches from Ledger’s family members were delivered to an audience on the verge of tears as the footage of the awards ceremony shows some of the brightest lights of the movie industry overcome with emotion.

While his mother said they would be using the moment to be ‘happy for what he has achieved’, the room full of Hollywood’s brightest lights was clearly struck by sorrow for having lost one of their own number.

The reaction of major stars like Brad Pitt, Anne Hathaway, Ben Kingsley and Kate Winslet to a much deserved award that Ledger didn’t live to receive himself is truly heartbreaking.

She said: “He loved working with Chris Nolan and Christian Bale and Gary Oldman.

“When he came home at Christmas, he couldn’t wait to tell us all about it, and he was doing the voice and laughing, showing me all the rushes. We had a great time.”