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IMDbPro

Gary Oldman

  • Actor
  • Producer
  • Director
IMDbProStarmeterTop 500373
Gary Oldman
Take a closer look at the various roles Gary Oldman has played throughout his acting career.
Play clip1:24
Gary Oldman | Movie Moments
99+ Videos
99+ Photos
Gary Oldman is a talented English movie star and character actor, renowned for his expressive acting style. One of the most celebrated thespians of his generation, with a diverse career encompassing theatre, film and television, he is known for his roles as Sid Vicious in Sid and Nancy (1986), Drexl in True Romance (1993), George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), and Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour (2017), among many others. For much of his career, he was best-known for playing over-the-top antagonists, such as terrorist Egor Korshunov in the 1997 blockbuster Air Force One (1997), though he has reached a new audience with heroic roles in the Harry Potter and Dark Knight franchises. He is also a filmmaker, musician, and author.

Gary Leonard Oldman was born on March 21, 1958 in New Cross, London, England, to Kathleen (Cheriton), a homemaker, and Leonard Bertram Oldman, a welder. He won a scholarship to Britain's Rose Bruford Drama College, in Sidcup, Kent, where he received a B.A. in theatre arts in 1979. He subsequently studied with the Greenwich Young People's Theatre and went on to appear in a number of plays throughout the early '80s, including "The Pope's Wedding," for which he received Time Out's Fringe Award for Best Newcomer of 1985-1986 and the British Theatre Association's Drama Magazine Award as Best Actor for 1985. Before fame, he was employed as a worker in assembly lines, and as a porter in an operating theater. He also got jobs selling shoes and beheading pigs while supporting his early acting career.

His film debut was Remembrance (1982), though his most-memorable early role came when he played Sex Pistol Sid Vicious in the biopic Sid and Nancy (1986) picking up the Evening Standard Film Award as Best Newcomer. He then received a Best Actor nomination from BAFTA for his portrayal of '60s playwright Joe Orton in Prick Up Your Ears (1987).

In the 1990s, Oldman brought to life a series of iconic real-world and fictional villains including Lee Harvey Oswald in JFK (1991), the title character in Dracula (1992), Drexl Spivey in True Romance (1993), Stansfield in Léon: The Professional (1994), Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg in The Fifth Element (1997) and Ivan Korshunov in Air Force One (1997). That decade also saw Oldman portraying Ludwig van Beethoven in biopic Immortal Beloved (1994).

Oldman played the coveted role of Sirius Black in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), giving him a key part in one of the highest-grossing franchises ever. He reprised that role in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007). Oldman also took on the iconic role of Detective James Gordon in writer-director Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins (2005), a role he played again in The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012). Prominent film critic Mark Kermode, in reviewing The Dark Knight, wrote, "the best performance in the film, by a mile, is Gary Oldman's ... it would be lovely to see him get a[n Academy Award] nomination because actually, he's the guy who gets kind of overlooked in all of this."

Oldman co-starred with Jim Carrey in the 2009 version of A Christmas Carol in which Oldman played three roles. He had a starring role in David Goyer's supernatural thriller The Unborn, released in 2009. In 2010, Oldman co-starred with Denzel Washington in The Book of Eli. He also played a lead role in Catherine Hardwicke's Red Riding Hood. Oldman voiced the role of villain Lord Shen and was nominated for an Annie Award for his performance in Kung Fu Panda 2.

In 2011, Oldman portrayed master spy George Smiley in the adaptation of John le Carré's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), and the role scored Oldman his first Academy Award nomination. In 2014, he played one of the lead humans in the science fiction action film Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014). Also in 2014, Oldman starred alongside Joel Kinnaman, Abbie Cornish, Michael Keaton, and Samuel L. Jackson in the remake of RoboCop (2014), as Norton, the scientist who creates RoboCop. Also that year, Oldman starred in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes as one of the leads alongside Jason Clarke and Keri Russell.

Aside from acting, Oldman tried his hand at writing and directing for Nil by Mouth (1997). The movie opened the Cannes Film Festival in 1997, and won Kathy Burke a Best Actress prize at the festival.

Oldman has three children, Alfie, with first wife, actress Lesley Manville, and Gulliver and Charlie with his third wife, Donya Fiorentino. In 2017, he married writer and art curator Gisele Schmidt.

In 2018 he won an Oscar for best actor for his work on Darkest Hour (2017).
BornMarch 21, 1958
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornMarch 21, 1958
IMDbProStarmeterTop 500373
  • Unlock contact info on IMDbPro
  • Won 1 Oscar
    • 64 wins & 103 nominations total

Double Take: Showstopping Biopic Transformations

Double Take: Showstopping Biopic Transformations

We've rounded up some of the best biopic transformations, including Academy Award nominee Ana de Armas in Blonde.
See the full gallery
[object Object]
Photos

Photos751

Gary Oldman in From Upshott with Love (2022)
Gary Oldman in Work Drinks (2022)
Gary Oldman and Jack Lowden in Failure's Contagious (2022)
Gary Oldman in Failure's Contagious (2022)
Gary Oldman, Dustin Demri-Burns, and Rosalind Eleazar in Slow Horses (2022)
Gary Oldman and Lena Olin in Romeo Is Bleeding (1993)
Gary Oldman in Romeo Is Bleeding (1993)
Gary Oldman, Amy Adams, Jeanine Serralles, and Brian Tyree Henry in The Woman in the Window (2020)
Gary Oldman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Amy Adams, Wyatt Russell, and Brian Tyree Henry in The Woman in the Window (2020)
Gary Oldman and Amanda Seyfried in Mank (2020)
Gary Oldman and Sadie Frost in Dracula (1992)
Gary Oldman, Randy Davison, and Tuppence Middleton in Mank (2020)

Known for

Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Aaron Eckhart, Heath Ledger, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Cillian Murphy, and Chin Han in The Dark Knight (2008)
The Dark Knight
9.0
  • Gordon
  • 2008
Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
7.0
  • George Smiley
  • 2011
Gary Oldman in Darkest Hour (2017)
Darkest Hour
7.4
  • Winston Churchill
  • 2017
Anthony Hopkins, Gary Oldman, Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Monica Bellucci, Sadie Frost, Michaela Bercu, and Florina Kendrick in Dracula (1992)
Dracula
7.4
  • Dracula
  • 1992

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Oppenheimer
    • Harry S. Truman
    • Post-production
    • 2023
  • Star Citizen
    • Admiral Ernst Bishop
    • In Production
    • Video Game
  • Squadron 42
    • Admiral Ernst Bishop
    • In Production
    • Video Game
  • Gary Oldman, Dustin Demri-Burns, Jack Lowden, Olivia Cooke, and Rosalind Eleazar in Slow Horses (2022)
    Slow Horses
    • Jackson Lamb
    • TV Series
    • 2022–2023
  • Antonio Banderas, Morgan Freeman, Salma Hayek, Samuel L. Jackson, and Ryan Reynolds in Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard (2021)
    Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard
    • Vladislav Dukhovic
    • 2021
  • Gary Oldman, Evangeline Lilly, and Armie Hammer in Crisis (2021)
    Crisis
    • Dr. Tyrone Brower
    • 2021
  • Gary Oldman in Mank (2020)
    Mank
    • Herman Mankiewicz
    • 2020
  • Gary Oldman, Lance Henriksen, Ron Perlman, Robert Patrick, Juliet Landau, Anne Rice, and Joss Whedon in A Place Among the Dead (2020)
    A Place Among the Dead
    • GO
    • 2020
  • Amy Adams in The Woman in the Window (2020)
    The Woman in the Window
    • Alistair Russell
    • 2020
  • Gary Oldman and Olga Kurylenko in The Courier (2019)
    The Courier
    • Ezekiel Mannings
    • 2019
  • Antonio Banderas, Gary Oldman, Meryl Streep, David Schwimmer, and Jeffrey Wright in The Laundromat (2019)
    The Laundromat
    • Jürgen Mossack
    • 2019
  • Gary Oldman and Emily Mortimer in Mary (2019)
    Mary
    • David
    • 2019
  • Gary Oldman, Jessica Alba, and Tommy Flanagan in Killers Anonymous (2019)
    Killers Anonymous
    • The Man
    • 2019
  • Maika Monroe in Tau (2018)
    Tau
    • Tau (voice)
    • 2018
  • Gary Oldman and Gerard Butler in Hunter Killer (2018)
    Hunter Killer
    • CJCS Charles Donnegan
    • 2018
  • The Hitman's Bodyguard: Deleted Scenes (2017)
    The Hitman's Bodyguard: Deleted Scenes
    • Vladislav Dukhovich
    • Video
    • 2017
  • Gary Oldman in Darkest Hour (2017)
    Darkest Hour
    • Winston Churchill
    • 2017
  • Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds in The Hitman's Bodyguard (2017)
    The Hitman's Bodyguard
    • Vladislav Dukhovich
    • 2017

Producer

  • Gary Oldman, Evangeline Lilly, and Armie Hammer in Crisis (2021)
    Crisis
    • executive producer
    • 2021
  • Nobody's Baby (2001)
    Nobody's Baby
    • producer
    • 2001
  • The Contender (2000)
    The Contender
    • executive producer
    • 2000
  • Plunkett & Macleane (1999)
    Plunkett & Macleane
    • executive producer
    • 1999
  • Kathy Burke, Charlie Creed-Miles, and Ray Winstone in Nil by Mouth (1997)
    Nil by Mouth
    • producer
    • 1997

Director

  • Flying Horse
    • Director
    • In Development
  • Jack White: Unstaged
    • Director
    • Video
    • 2012
  • Perry Farrell & Debbie Harry: The Patience Bossa (2004)
    Perry Farrell & Debbie Harry: The Patience Bossa
    • Director
    • Music Video
    • 2004
  • Kathy Burke, Charlie Creed-Miles, and Ray Winstone in Nil by Mouth (1997)
    Nil by Mouth
    • Director
    • 1997
  • In-development projects at IMDbPro

Videos189

Chutzpah, This Is?
Full Movie 19:57
Chutzpah, This Is?
Gary Oldman | Movie Moments
Clip 1:24
Gary Oldman | Movie Moments
"Good Flight?"
Clip 0:49
"Good Flight?"
"Visited by Three Ghosts" from A Christmas Carol.
Clip 1:24
"Visited by Three Ghosts" from A Christmas Carol.
"Shrinking, Sliding, Falling" from A Christmas Carol.
Clip 0:47
"Shrinking, Sliding, Falling" from A Christmas Carol.
"Joy to the World" from A Christmas Carol.
Clip 0:24
"Joy to the World" from A Christmas Carol.
"I'm Still Here" from A Christmas Carol.
Clip 0:51
"I'm Still Here" from A Christmas Carol.
"Fezziwigs" from A Christmas Carol
Clip 0:51
"Fezziwigs" from A Christmas Carol
"Crachit's Surprise" from A Christmas Carol.
Clip 0:51
"Crachit's Surprise" from A Christmas Carol.
A Christmas Carol
Clip 0:19
A Christmas Carol
Man Down
Clip 0:56
Man Down
Man Down
Clip 1:37
Man Down

Personal details

Edit
  • Official site
    • Instagram
  • Alternative names
    • Maurice Escargot
  • Height
    • 5′ 8½″ (1.74 m)
  • Born
    • March 21, 1958
    • New Cross, London, England, UK
  • Spouses
      Gisele SchmidtSeptember 2017 - present
  • Children
      Alfie Oldman
  • Parents
      Leonard Bertram Oldman
  • Relatives
    • Laila Morse(Sibling)
  • Other works
    Sang "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and "My Way" on the Sid and Nancy (1986) soundtrack.
  • Publicity listings
    • 11 Interviews
    • 10 Articles
    • 3 Pictorials
    • 15 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Has used a different speaking voice (i.e. accent) in practically every movie he has ever been in.
  • Quotes
    I don't think Hollywood knows what to do with me. I would imagine that when it comes to romantic comedies, my name would be pretty low down on the list.
  • Trademarks
      Characters are usually borderline psychotics. Also known for playing a wide variety of roles that often requires a variety of different accents.
  • Nickname
    • Gaz
  • Salaries
      The Dark Knight
      (2008)
      $3,000,000

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