Heath Ledger's family 'so proud' of his performance in The Dark Knight

HEATH LEDGER's family have expressed their pride at the late actor's performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight.

After attending the world premiere in New York, Ledger's father Kim said in a statement on behalf of Heath's immediate family: "The Dark Knight is everything we hoped it would be and more. Heath loved the experience of creating this character and working on the film. We are so proud of our boy."

Kim and his wife, Heath's mother Sally Bell and her husband, and Heath's elder sister Kate flew in from Australia to join the movie's stars at Monday night's premiere, where a black carpet was laid out in his honour.

Heath Ledger died in January, aged 28, from an accidental overdose of prescription pills. He rose to prominence after starring in Brokeback Mountain - he was nominated for an Oscar and for Golden Globe and BAFTA awards, all for best actor; he won a best actor award from the Australian Film Institute.

His final film performance, uncompleted at the time of his death, is in director Terry Gilliam's forthcoming fantasy adventure The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, in which characters travel through a magic mirror.

When Ledger died, filming had been completed for scenes set in the real world. With the rest of production focusing on adventures in a fantastical realm, stars Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell stepped in to play the physically transformed versions of his charaxcter, Tony.

Gilliam has attacked the growing campaign for a posthumous Oscar to be given to Ledger for The Dark Knight. He told the Telegraph newspaper: "That's what Warner Brothers are saying, but they'll do anything to publicise their film. That's just what they do and you can't get upset because it's bull****. They're like a great white shark which devours whatever it can."