Joaquin Phoenix dedicates his SAG Award to late Heath Ledger

Joaquin Phoenix is at the summit of success following his mega-hit film Joker and as he rightfully bagged the accolade for his performance at the SAG Awards on Sunday, he had the legacy of Heath Ledger to thank.

The 45-year-old accepted the award for Male Actor in A Leading Role for his stellar performance in the Todd Phillips-directorial.

Accepting his big win, Phoenix expressed his gratitude to the late Hollywood legend who was known for his role as an antagonist in the 2008-released The Dark Knight.

Ledger had died at the age of 28 from an accidental drug overdose.

"Really, I'm standing here on the shoulders of my favorite actor, Heath Ledger," said the Gladiator actor on Sunday.

Apart from that, he also thanked his fellow nominees including Leonardo DiCaprio, who bagged a place in the category for his performance in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

He said to Leo: “You've been an inspiration for over 25 years to me and so many other people."

To Christian Bale, Phoenix said that he never gives a bad performance which is “infuriating.”