Ledger, who died at age 28, became the seventh actor to earn a posthumous nomination in the history of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. If he wins the statuette at the 81st annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, he will enter even more select company, for only one performer, Peter Finch, nominated for 1976′s “Network,” has ever won an Oscar after his death.

The other actors who left the scene before their work scored nominations include Jeanne Eagels (best actress, “The Letter,” 1929) to Spencer Tracy (actor, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” 1967), Ralph Richardson, (supporting actor, “Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan,” 1984) and Massimo Troisi (“Il Postino,” 1994, best actor). Ledger’s career most closely resembles that of James Dean, another charismatic young actor whose unexpected death shocked his fans.

Dean, in fact, became a posthumous nominee not once, but twice. Following his death in a car crash on Sept. 30, 1955, he was nominated in the best actor category in two subsequent years — first for 1955′s “East of Eden” and then for 1956′s “Giant.”

Three years ago, Ledger was nominated as best actor for his work as a lovelorn cowboy in “Brokeback Mountain,” but it was Philip Seymour Hoffman’s work in “Capote” that took home the prize.

Appearing in a big-budget superhero movie isn’t typically considered a sure road to Oscar glory. Even a pro like Jack Nicholson failed to win the Academy’s favor when he donned the Joker’s garish grin for 1989′s “Batman” — though he was nominated by BAFTA and the Golden Globe Awards.

But this year, Ledger looks like the prohibitive favorite: He’s already won a Golden Globe and also been hailed by critics groups like the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn.

“All of us who worked with Heath on ‘The Dark Knight’ accept this with an awful mixture of sadness but incredible pride,” Nolan said. “After Heath passed on, you saw a hole ripped in the future of cinema, but with the extraordinary response to his work that we’ve seen all over the world, I for one will start to be able to look less at the gap in the future and at the incredible place Heath made for himself with his talent and his dedication.”

The crowd gave Ledger, who died almost a year ago, a standing ovation, agreeing wholeheartedly with Nolan’s assessment that “Heath will be eternally missed but he will never be forgotten.”

Actors too had praise for the Australian. “It was wonderful that he won,” said Paul Giamatti, who took home the award for actor in a TV miniseries for his work in “John Adams.” “It was a fantastic performance but it was just one, he had a lot ahead of him and he had done great work before.”

Thus begins what many expect to be a long, bittersweet trek through the numerous award shows as stand-ins are called in to accept the accolades for Ledger’s performance as the anarchic Joker. Many believe he is the overwhelming favorite to win the Oscar.

The 28-year-old actor died last January from an overdose of prescription drugs. Only two other actors have won posthumous Golden Globes: Peter Finch and a special achievement award for James Dean.

While Warner Bros. has been waging a vigorous Oscar campaign on behalf of the entire film, Ledger’s transcendent performance has caught the public’s imagination, leading the film’s various members to answer questions about the young actor. In a red carpet interview with Ryan Seacrest, Maggie Gyllenhaal expressed her admiration for her costar and her unease with her de facto role as his ambassador.

At such a festive occasion, “It’s hard to talk about a friend who died,” Gyllenhaal said in a polite remonstration of Seacrest.

Ledger was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Oscar for his role as a repressed and quietly unhappy gay cowboy in “Brokeback Mountain.”

Other memorable performances include a suicidal prison guard in “Monster’s Ball” and Bob Dylan in “I’m Not There.”

According to the actor’s rep, the Oscar winner suffered several broken bones Sunday in a single-car crash in Mississippi that authorities described as a “typical accident”—albeit one which necessitated the jaws of life and required Freeman and his passenger be airlifted to a nearby hospital.

But things are looking up.

“Morgan has a broken arm, elbow and has minor shoulder damage but was in good spirits when I spoke with him a short time ago at the Elvis Presley Memorial Trauma Center at the Med, a Level 1 Trauma Center at the Regional Medical Center at Memphis,” publicist Donna Lee said in a statement released this afternoon.

“He is having a little bit of surgery this afternoon or tomorrow to help correct the damage. He says he’ll be OK and is looking forward to a full recovery.”

(Collective sigh of relief.)

Mississippi Highway Patrol said that Freeman was behind the wheel of his friend’s 1997 Nissan Maxima when the accident occurred. Per authorities, the 71-year-old actor lost control of the vehicle and then overcorrected, causing the compact car to roll over several times.

Both Freeman and passenger, Demaris Meyer, apparently were wearing their seatbelts at the time and there is no sign that alcohol was involved.

“I think it’s safe to say no charges are planned,” MHP spokesman Officer Ben Williams told E! News.

Freeman and his wife, Myrna, have a home just a few miles from the accident site.

The actor’s rep also said that well-wishers are welcome to leave messages on the website of the hurricane-preparedness charity Plan!t Now, the Dark Knight player’s pet cause.

Christopher Nolan’s Batman sequel pulled in another $43.8m (£22.2m) against the latter’s $42.5m (£21.5m), and now stands at No 8 in the all-time box office chart for highest grossing US films, with a Bat-tastic $395m (£200m). To put that in perspective, Sam Raimi’s hugely successful Spider-Man film, stands just above it at No 7 with £403m (£204m), a haul amassed over 15 weeks on general release; The Dark Knight was only released 17 days ago.

Analysts are now wondering if The Dark Knight can overtake the all-time champ, Titanic, which took $600m in the US. Much of that will depend on fans returning to see the film for a second and third time, which could keep the film in cinemas until November or longer.

The news is disappointing for the makers of The Mummy, as they would have considered themselves in with a good shout of downing The Dark Knight. Studio bosses had hoped for a much bigger opening, and the series which has now spawned three films (and a dubious spin-off) may have reached the end of its run.

The top five was rounded out by the previously released comedy Step Brothers at third place with $16m in its second week, the Abba musical Mamma Mia! was fourth with $13m in its third week, and the adventure tale Journey to the Center of the Earth, which, like the Mummy film, also stars Brendan Fraser, in fifth, with $6.8m in its fourth week.

Elsewhere on the chart, the only other new entry was the comedy Swing Vote, the tale of a presidential election which comes down to one man’s vote. It stars Kevin Costner, Dennis Hopper and Kelsey Grammer, and took $6.3m for sixth place.

However, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor did manage to beat The Dark Knight to the top spot outside the US, after opening at No 1 in 26 of its 28 markets over the weekend. It took an estimated $59m against The Dark Knight’s $37m in 51 countries.

Orange is far from my favourite colour (actually I really dislike it) but it doesn’t look bad of Maggie. I always seem to agree with her style.