Gary Oldman reflected on Ledger’s 2008 death, after he and the Australian actor starred in Christopher Nolan’s acclaimed “The Dark Knight” Batman movie.

Dark Knight actor makes rare comment on moment he learned costar Heath Ledger died

Gary Oldman reflected on Ledger’s 2008 death, after he and the Australian actor starred in Christopher Nolan’s acclaimed “The Dark Knight” Batman movie.

Joey Nolfi

Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at *. *Since 2016, his work at EW includes RuPaul’s Drag Race video interviews, Oscars predictions, and more.

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September 11, 2026 12:04 p.m. ET

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Heath Ledger in ‘The Dark Knight’. Credit:

- *Dark Knight *actor Gary Oldman opened up about the moment he learned Heath Ledger died.

- Ledger died after starring as the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s lauded film, which later won the actor a posthumous Oscar.

- Oldman paid tribute to Ledger over the years after his 2008 death, including with nods during his *Slow Horses *TV series.

The pain of losing Hollywood actor Heath Ledger nearly 20 years ago still stings for his on-screen *Dark Knight* family.

Oscar-winning actor Gary Oldman — who played James Gordon opposite Ledger’s Joker in Christopher Nolan’s 2008 masterpiece — made a rare comment Thursday afternoon about the moment he learned Ledger died that year at age 28.

When asked at a Toronto International Film Festival panel about his life and career what he remembered most about his time with Ledger, the 68-year-old said he had fond memories of “being friends with him” more than anything else.

“I remember...” Oldman said, pausing as he turned to address his longtime manager, Douglas Urbanski, who sat in the audience.

Heath Ledger as the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight’ movie.

Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett

“Douglas, you told me,” Oldman said, as Urbanski confirmed the recollection. “You were the one that broke the news to me. I was in utter, utter [shock].”

Oldman also went on to acknowledge the 2014 death of Philip Seymour Hoffman, calling both actors “extraordinary talents” while lamenting losing both of them “within a relatively short [amount of time].”

Both Ledger and Hoffman were lauded for their performances in *The Dark Knight* and *Doubt*, respectively, with both earning Academy Award nominations for their turns — with Ledger’s portrayal of the DC Comics villain ultimately winning the actor a posthumous Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

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Ahead of the Academy Awards victory, Oldman actually accepted an earlier Actor Award victory (then known as a SAG Award) on Ledger’s behalf at the 2009 ceremony.

“I’m quite emotional now. It is a great honor to be asked to accept this on behalf of Heath. He was an extraordinary young man with an extraordinary talent, and it is wonderful that you have acknowledged that and honored that talent tonight,” Oldman said on stage during the telecast. “On behalf of Heath, his family, and his family on *The Dark Knight*, I thank you.”

In subsequent years, Oldman’s popular *Slow Horses *TV series also seemingly paid tribute to Ledger during a season 5 scene that referenced an iconic moment Ledger shared with another star in the 2008 superhero blockbuster.

Heath Ledger in ‘The Dark Knight’. Warner Bros. Pictures

At a pivotal moment in the film, Ledger’s Joker positions a pencil on a table, and later slams a man’s head into it. *Slow Horses — *starring Oldman — later included a scene that saw Oldman’s character, Jackson Lamb, say, “When you talk, I wanna stick a pencil in my eye and head-butt the table.”

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Elsewhere during his TIFF presentation, Oldman also reflected on the death of his “darling” *Harry Potter* costar Alan Rickman, who died in 2016 after a battle with pancreatic cancer, whom he said used to bring children from nearby hospitals to set to witness the magic unfold during the film’s production.

“I thought that was the most extraordinary thing, that he was in this world that he got to be in, come in every day, and that he knew how much it meant to these kids,” Oldman said. “So, he wanted to share it.”

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