Joker wins: Ledger takes SAG supporting prize

LOS ANGELES — Heath Ledger's sociopathic reinvention of Batman bad guy the Joker in "The Dark Knight" earned him the supporting-actor honor Sunday at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

The win puts the late actor a step closer to becoming just the second performer to win a posthumous Academy Award, following Peter Finch, the best-actor recipient for 1976's "Network."

"I'm quite emotional," said Gary Oldman, who played Commissioner Gordon in the film. "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."

Oscar buzz has been flying over Ledger's performance since before his death just over a year ago from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs. With the SAG win and the Golden Globe, Ledger now looks like a virtual lock to receive the supporting-actor Oscar on Feb. 22.

Kate Winslet won the supporting-actress prize for her performance as a former concentration-camp guard in "The Reader."

Winslet offered a tribute to the late Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack, both producers on "The Reader," and said 2008 was a fabulous year for films.

"It's really an honor to be included in what I think is such a remarkable year," Winslet said. "I really feel like everybody should be given a medal."

The role already earned Winslet the same prize at the Golden Globes, where she also won lead dramatic actress for "Revolutionary Road." But at the Oscars, Winslet has just one nomination, as lead actress for "The Reader."

As it did at the Golden Globes, "30 Rock" swept the TV comedy honors, Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin taking the individual acting prizes and the show winning the ensemble cast award. Hugh Laurie, who won his second straight SAG prize for best actor in a TV drama for the medical show "House," joked that he was disappointed one of his fellow nominees did not win.

"I actually had a hundred dollars on James Spader (of "Boston Legal")," Laurie said. "This is just not my night."

Sally Field earned the TV drama actress award for the family series "Brothers & Sisters," while the advertising saga "Mad Men" was named best drama show. Accepting alongside his cast mates, "Mad Men" star Jon Hamm had kind words for the show's "dozen of viewers."

Before the show, "The Dark Knight" won SAG's honor for best movie stunt ensemble, while "Heroes" took the same prize for television.

James Earl Jones was honored with the guild's lifetime-achievement award for a career that included roles in "Dr. Strangelove," "Field of Dreams," "Cry, the Beloved Country" and "The Man," in which he played the first black U.S. president.