NEW YORK (AP) — Last year’s Oscar nominations day was tragic. This year’s was bittersweet.

It was exactly one year ago Thursday when Heath Ledger was found dead in a New York apartment, just hours after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had announced its nominees. Outside the Soho building, a makeshift memorial of flowers and candles quickly accumulated.

The academy paid its own tribute to the actor Thursday by nominating him for best supporting actor, honoring his mad, incendiary performance as the Joker in “The Dark Knight.”

“Today was the day,” said Josh Brolin, who last year was celebrating the Oscar success of “No Country for Old Men” when the news on Ledger broke. “It was a very sad day. I knew Heath loosely. I think it’s a great performance. It’s a very bittersweet thing.”

“The Dark Knight” earned eight nominations in total, but was shut out of other major award categories. Ledger’s nomination, though, came as expected.

Ledger, who died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs at the age of 28, was nominated along with Brolin (“Milk”), Robert Downey Jr. (“Tropic Thunder”), Philip Seymour Hoffman (“Doubt”) and Michael Shannon (“Revolutionary Road”).

Many expect Ledger to win when the awards are handed out Feb. 22, which would make him only the second actor to posthumously win an Oscar following Peter Finch in 1976’s “Network.”

Other actors have been nominated after their deaths, though: Massimo Troisi (1994’s “The Postman”), Spencer Tracy (1967’s “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”), Ralph Richardson, (1984’s “Greystroke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes”), Jeanne Eagles (1929’s “The Letter”) and James Dean (twice, for 1955’s “East of Eden and 1956’s “Giant”).

At the time of Ledger’s death, comparisons to Dean were rife — and perhaps always will be. Both were young, provocative talents snuffed out just as they were reaching full expression. But since “The Dark Knight” was released, Ledger seemed to make a mythology of his own.

A groundswell of acclaim and sentiment has coalesced around his performance. When the Golden Globes awarded him best supporting actor, the crowd stood in applause — the first standing ovation of the night — as “Dark Knight” director Christopher Nolan accepted the award for Ledger.

Ledger’s mother, Sally Bell, has said his Golden Globe would be given to his 3-year-old daughter Matilda.

“I just saw ‘The Dark Knight,’” said Richard Jenkins, nominated for best actor for his performance in “The Visitor.” ‘’He’s extraordinary in it. I think the response that his win got at the Golden Globes is kind of how everyone feels. He was a brilliant, brilliant actor.”

It’s the second Oscar nomination for Ledger, who was nominated for best actor in 2006 for his performance as a gruff-voiced, gay cowboy in “Brokeback Mountain.” Before the Joker came along, it was his most indelible role. He lost the Oscar to Philip Seymour Hoffman (“Capote”).