The Joker and Howard Beale

What do Heath Ledger and Peter Finch have in common? Well, aside from both being from Australia, they also both might be the only actors awarded an Oscar posthumously.

Peter Finch won his for the role of the deranged Howard Beale in MGM's 1977 film Network. The film was a searing indictment of television's complicity in locking society into bondage, blinkering people from seeing the madness arising as the elites consolidate their grip on power. Beale was a major network news anchorman, fired from his job who then promises to kill himself on-air. Driven by the unexpected ratings bonanza his antics attract, his network handlers allow Beale to rant on as a mad prophet of the airwaves, who most famously exhorted the American public to stick their heads out their windows and shout "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!".

Finch had a heart attack and died during the promotional run-up to the film's release. Heath Ledger, of course, died from an accidental overdose of Oxycodone and other prescription drugs in early 2008. He had recently competed filming the role of the Joker in the latest entry in the Batman franchise, The Dark Knight. And there is very strong Oscar buzz about his performance.

So, both from Australia, with Ledger's win they would both have posthumous Oscars... what else? Oh yes, their final roles would have been of madmen who simply held a mirror up to the insanity surrounding us, disguised as modern society.