Tragic Heath Ledger has been tipped to receive a posthumous Oscar after his 'blazing brilliant' role in the new Batman film.

Critics have described the performance as 'spellbinding' and say it is his best ever.

The Dark Knight received the rave reviews after critics were shown a preview of the new blockbuster at the weekend.

The Australian actor died of an overdose in his New York apartment soon after shooting the film, in January this year.

Heath Ledger as The Joker in The Dark Knight for which he has been tipped to receive a posthumous Oscar

It has also been announced today that a new auditorium will be named after Heath in his hometown of Perth, Australia.

The 570-seat landmark was announced at a dedication ceremony by Western Australia state Premier Alan Carpenter.

He said: 'Heath Ledger was totally dedicated top the craft of being an actor and that's what made him successful.'

Heath's father Kim attended the ceremony and said that he and his family will also be attending the premiere of The Dark Knight.

He added: 'He was such a giver to the arts right across the board. There's not a lot of things he'd put his name to, but he'd put his name to that.'

Heath was nominated for an Oscar following his performance in Brokeback Mountain in 2006 but missed out on the award to Philip Seymour Hoffman.

In Rolling Stone magazine, critic Emmanuel Levy described Heath in his Dark Knight role: 'I can only speak superlatives of Ledger, who is mad-crazy-blazing brilliant as the Joker.

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Heath left behind daughter Matilda Rose, his child with actress Michelle Williams

'It's typical of Ledger's total commitment to films as diverse as Brokeback Mountain and I'm Not There that he does nothing out of vanity or the need to be liked.

'If there's a movement to get him the first posthumous Oscar since Peter Finch won for 1976's Network, sign me up.'

Even before he died, Ledger's explosive performance in the film was being touted as his greatest ever.

After filming the Batman movie, Ledger was said to be in such a frenzied state he was sleeping 'on average two hours a night' and throwing back prescription sleeping tablets to knock himself out.

There were calls after his death to axe Ledger from the film - a move which fellow star of the movie, Christian Bale, described as 'bloody insane'.

He said shortly after Heath died: 'I know there are a lot of people out there who don't think this movie should be shown.

'But if you're asking my opinion, I think that's bloody insane. I also think it's an insult to Heath and everything he stood for. I don't think anything should be cut – I think it's the movie he wanted to make.

'The guy was brilliant. He was a fantastic actor and he put everything into this part. I absolutely know without question that he would have wanted everyone to see it.

'People ask me if I feel weird about the film and seeing it. I don't feel weird at all. I'll actually enjoy watching Heath in it.

'For me, this is a celebration of what he did best – entertain people. Why would any actor not want that to be appreciated? I know he would have.

'The bottom line is it would be totally rude not to. Respect the man. This is what he did. This is what he wanted to do.'