Christopher Nolan honored his “dear friend,” the late Heath Ledger, when he accepted the award for Best Director — Motion Picture at the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday.
The Oppenheimer director, in a moving moment during his acceptance speech, began by noting that the only time he’d been on the ceremony’s stage before was when he accepted Ledger’s posthumous award win in the Best Supporting Actor — Motion Picture category.
Ledger, who died from an accidental overdose in 2008, won the award for his role as Joker in the Nolan-directed film The Dark Knight.
Nolan, who reflected on the late actor’s “incredible place” in the history of cinema in his speech at the time, told the crowd at this year’s ceremony that the speech was “complicated and challenging” for him.
“And in the middle of speaking, I glanced up and Robert Downey Jr. caught my eye and gave me a look of love and support,” said Nolan as he pointed to Downey in the crowd.
“[It’s] the same look he’s giving me now, the same love and support he’s shown so many people in our community after so many years.”
Nolan added that he thought it would be “simpler” to accept the Best Director award for himself before realising that he could only accept the accolade on behalf of others.
“As directors, we bring people together and we try to get them to give their best,” said the director before giving shoutouts to others involved in Oppenheimer, the highest-grossing biopic of all time.
You can check out more of Nolan’s speech below.