Heath Ledger's spirit has been memorialised at a glittering party inside his favourite Hollywood hangout.
On the eve of the late actor's probable Oscar win and with his father Kim and mother Sally watching, Sydney-based actor Oliver Ackland was on Thursday named the inaugural recipient of the Australians in Film Heath Ledger Scholarship.
The event was staged inside Sunset Boulevard hotel, Chateau Marmont, Ledger's home away from home in Los Angeles.
Ackland, 29, has toiled as an actor in Australia for 10 years and beat 150 other applicants.
"This is just surreal," Ackland told AAP.
The scholarship, including $US10,000 ($A15,550) and Qantas flights between Australia and the US, was judged by a panel of Ledger's close friends and colleagues, including Gregor Jordan, who directed Ledger in Two Hands and Ned Kelly, his US agent Steve Alexander, Ann Fay, who cast Ledger in his first TV series and Australian actress Rachel Griffiths.
"Rachel Griffiths said 'How do we judge this? Are we looking for the next Heath Ledger?'" Jordan told the 200 guests at the Chateau Marmont.
"We all said 'No. There is no next Heath Ledger, but there's plenty of other people'.
"After a lot of arguing, we finally said Oliver Ackland."
The scholarship is designed to give Ackland the best shot at making it in Hollywood, with LA-based organisation Australians in Film introducing him to Hollywood's industry heavyweights.
Two surprise no-shows lowered the star wattage at the event.
Nicole Kidman and Ledger's ex-girlfriend Naomi Watts had confirmed they would attend, however did not appear.
Celebrities and Ledger's friends who did show their support were Olympic swimming champion Ian Thorpe and actors Jack Thompson, Melissa George, Rose Byrne, Jesse Spencer, Teresa Palmer and Monsters Ball director Marc Foster.
Ackland has made numerous trips to Los Angeles to audition for roles and came within a whisker of being cast in the 2006 thriller The Good Shepherd, directed by Robert De Niro and starring Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie.
He was a regular on the TV series Outriders and starred alongside Sam Neill in the TV movie Jessica.
To make ends meet in between acting jobs he worked odd jobs in bars and as a gardener.
Last year his father told him about the Australians in Film scholarship named after Ledger.
"About an hour before the entries closed I quickly edited my show reel," Ackland said.
"I had a new Mac computer and really didn't know how to use the film editing program but managed to send my submission a few minutes before the deadline."
Ledger, who died aged 28 in January 2008 from an accidental prescription drug overdose, is the short-priced favourite to win the best supporting actor Oscar on Monday (AEDT) for his performance in The Dark Knight.
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