Oldman continued to quietly but consistently make great films and turn in impressive performances. Even with his chilling portrayal of Lee Harvey Oswald in the 1991 film JFK and his frighteningly charming depiction of Dracula in 1992’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Oldman remained widely unknown in American celebrity culture.
It wasn’t until he landed the role of Sirius Black in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in 2004 that Gary Oldman became an immediately recognizable name. Long ago Oldman captured the attention and respect of his fellow acting community, but now the American public loves him too.
Sirius Black was quite a serious departure from Oldman’s typical modus operandi. Until this role, Oldman had quite the reputation for picking characters that were psychotic, on the brink of psychosis, or just generally disturbed. Apparently the likable characters suited Oldman just as well. After appearing as Sirius Black, Oldman took on the challenge of portraying good-cop-in-a-bad-city Jim Gordon in Batman Begins in 2005. Black’s character will return to the Harry Potter franchise in The Order of the Phoenix due out 2007, and Jim Gordon will return as Lieutenant Gordon in the as of yet untitled sequel to Batman Begins set to be released in 2008.
Over the course of Oldman’s career, he has worked with some of the business’s most talented stars. In JFK, he worked with the likes of Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones, and Sissy Spacek. In The Fifth Element he teamed up with Bruce Willis, and in Air Force One he acted with the incomparable Harrison Ford and Glenn Close.
However, Oldman enjoyed an infinitely more personal relationship with Hollywood’s own Uma Thurman. From October 1990 through 1992, Oldman and Thurman were married. Oldman has three children, although none with Thurman.
If interested in Oldman’s career, bear in mind that the actor goes by multiple names. His alternate credits include Gary von Oldman and Maurice Escargot. But don’t be fooled into thinking Oldman just recites the lines he’s given; he is also billed as a director, screenwriter, and producer. He wrote and directed the 1997 film Nil by Mouth, a homage to the desperation of poverty, drugs, and domestic violence in working-class London.
Despite allegations of a turbulent and violent personal life, Oldman is undeniably a talent among talents. More than any other actor, Gary Oldman is truly able to transform himself into his characters. Utilizing a host of different physiques and accents, Oldman seamlessly masters the nuances and subtleties of his subject. While he has yet to win the coveted Oscar, his gritty roles and emotional persona can’t go unnoticed by the Academy much longer.
YUDDY
