‘Joker’ Star Joaquin Phoenix Pays Tribute To Heath Ledger During SAG Awards Acceptance Speech

Joker star Joaquin Phoenix honored Heath Ledger’s iconic performance as the Clown Prince of Crime in his acceptance speech at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker continues its winning streak after the star was awarded Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role at the 26th SAG awards. During his acceptance speech, Joaquin Phoenix honored Heath Ledger’s Joker performance in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. Heath Ledger was awarded a posthumous Oscar for his role in The Dark Knight after his tragic death in 2008.

After thanking the Screen Actors Guild for the award Joaquin Phoenix spoke about the other nominees for the award, thanking them for their performances and expressing what he loved about their individual roles. Then, Joaquin Phoenix closed his speech by mentioning that he was “standing here on the shoulders” of Heath Ledger’s Joker performance. Take a look at Joaquin Phoenix honoring Heath Ledger in his speech below.

Do you prefer Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker to Heath Ledger’s take on the villain? What do you think about Joaquin Phoenix’s performance? Sound-off in the comments section!

Here is the official synopsis for Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker:

Director Todd Phillips “Joker” centers around the iconic arch nemesis and is an original, standalone fictional story not seen before on the big screen. Phillips’ exploration of Arthur Fleck, who is indelibly portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix, is of a man struggling to find his way in Gotham’s fractured society. A clown-for-hire by day, he aspires to be a stand-up comic at night…but finds the joke always seems to be on him. Caught in a cyclical existence between apathy and cruelty, Arthur makes one bad decision that brings about a chain reaction of escalating events in this gritty character study.

Directed by Todd Phillips from a script he co-wrote with Scott Silver, Joker stars Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Bill Camp, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Glenn FleshleRemark r, Douglas Hodge, Marc Maron, Josh Pais, and Shea Whigham.

Source: TNT