Gary Oldman

Oldman was born in London, England, the son of Kathleen, an Irish-born housewife, and Len Oldman, a former sailor who worked as a welder.^[7][16] Oldman has said that his father was an abusive alcoholic who left his family when Oldman was seven.^[17] Oldman was an accomplished singer and pianist as a child, but gave up music to pursue an acting career.^[18] His inspiration was Malcolm McDowell's performance in 1970 movie The Raging Moon.^[19][20] In a 1995 interview with Charlie Rose, Oldman said: "Something about Malcolm [McDowell] just arrested me, and I connected, and I said 'I wanna do that'."^[21] Oldman retained his love for music, however, and can be seen singing and playing piano in the 1988 movie Track 29, and tracing over pre-recorded versions of Beethoven's music in Immortal Beloved. Oldman attended the South East London Boys' School on Creek Road (A200) in Deptford, leaving school at 16.

After graduating from Rose Bruford College in Sidcup, Kent in 1979, Oldman spent almost eight years in theatre, winning various awards. During this time he appeared in several minor television films such as Remembrance (1982) and Morgan's Boy (1984). In 1986 he won his first starring role as the Sex Pistols' ill-fated bassist Sid Vicious in the 1986 motion picture Sid & Nancy. The role launched Oldman's career and paved the way for work in Hollywood. Oldman's performance was highly regarded by many, perhaps most notably ex-Sex Pistols vocalist John Lydon, who despite questioning the authenticity of some parts of the film, said of Oldman in his biography: "The chap who played Sid, Gary Oldman, I thought was quite good", and later called him a "bloody good actor".^[22] Oldman reportedly lost considerable weight for the role and was briefly hospitalised.^[23] His portrayal was ranked #62 on Premiere Magazine's "100 Greatest Performances of All Time."^[9] Oldman starred in another real-life portrayal the following year, portraying playwright Joe Orton in the 1987 film Prick Up Your Ears. He played a violent football hooligan in The Firm (1988), and starred opposite Christopher Lloyd in Track 29 the same year. Oldman's first foray into American cinema came later in 1988, when he played a troubled young Boston lawyer opposite real-life friend Kevin Bacon in Criminal Law. It marked the first time Oldman had performed on screen successfully using an American accent.^[24] In late 1988, he starred opposite long-time hero^[21] Alan Bates in We Think The World of You, and alongside Dennis Hopper and Frances McDormand in Chattahoochee (1989).

In 1991, Oldman starred in what was at that point the most significant role of his career as Lee Harvey Oswald in Oliver Stone's JFK. The following year, he starred as Count Dracula in Francis Ford Coppola's romance-horror blockbuster Dracula. By far the most commercially successful film adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel,^[25] it was a major box office success worldwide, and spawned various merchandise and video games.^[26][27] Oldman's performance is regarded by many as a staple of the horror genre, and was recognised by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films as the best male performance of 1992, who awarded Oldman the prestigious Best Actor award.^[28] Some claimed that Winona Ryder and Oldman did not get along on set.^[29] Director Francis Ford Coppola said: "The issue was not only that they did not get along... they got along and then one day they didn't – absolutely didn't get along. None of us were privy to what had happened." False rumours of an affair between the two also circulated in the media in 1992.^[30] Despite alleged personal issues during production of the film, Ryder has since been complimentary of Oldman's acting talents.^[29] The film established Oldman as a popular portrayer of villains in American cinema;^[8] he later played a violent pimp in True Romance (1993), a corrupt DEA officer in Léon (1994), a sadistic prison warden in Murder in the First (1995) and a futuristic corporate tyrant in The Fifth Element (1997). Oldman also displayed a skill for world accents; along with the Transylvanian Count Dracula, Oldman played German-born Viennese composer Ludwig van Beethoven in Immortal Beloved, and Russian terrorist Ivan Korshunov in the 1997 blockbuster Air Force One. He also appeared as a grinning demon in the 1993 promo video to the Guns N' Roses single "Since I Don't Have You".

Oldman appeared opposite Jeff Bridges as zealous Republican congressman Sheldon Runyon in The Contender (2000), in which he was also credited as a producer. He received a Screen Actors Guild award nomination for his performance. Oldman was reportedly unhappy with the editing process of the film, which he felt made the finished product look distinctly pro-Democrat.^[31] Oldman later told Charlie Rose^[21] that he felt his character was the true patriot of the film and that it was no co-incidence that the film was released shortly before a Presidential election. Oldman stated in the same interview that he had had "more than my wrist slapped" for expressing his sentiments in previous interviews. Film critic Roger Ebert rebutted some of the media reports on Oldman's objections, writing that Oldman's manager Douglas Urbanski had denied that the politically withdrawn Oldman had used such strong terms, and citing original interviewer Tom Roston as saying that material from his article had been taken out of context and exaggerated by subsequent media repetitions.^[32]

In 2001 Oldman starred opposite Anthony Hopkins in Hannibal, as Mason Verger, the only surviving victim of Hannibal Lecter. Oldman reportedly spent six hours per day in the make-up room to achieve the hideously disfigured appearance of the character.^[33] It marked the second time Oldman had appeared opposite Hopkins, a personal friend who was part of the supporting cast of Dracula. Oldman received an Emmy Award nomination for two guest appearances in Friends in 2001, appearing in the two-part episode "The One with Monica and Chandler's Wedding" as Richard Crosby, a pedantic actor who insists that "real" actors spit on one another when they enunciate, leading to the famous spitting scene between Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc) and himself. Oldman agreed to appear in the series after meeting LeBlanc on the set of Lost in Space in 1998. Oldman later landed a major role in the Harry Potter film series, playing Harry Potter's godfather Sirius Black. Oldman and star Daniel Radcliffe reportedly became very close during the filming of the series.^[34] In 2005, Oldman starred as James Gordon in Christopher Nolan's commercially and critically acclaimed Batman Begins, a role he reprised in the even more successful sequel The Dark Knight (2008). Oldman co-stars with Jim Carrey in the 2009 version of A Christmas Carol in which Oldman plays three roles.^[35][36][37] He had a starring role in David Goyer's supernatural thriller Unborn, released in 2009.^[38][39] Oldman's second film project of 2009 will be to co-star with Denzel Washington in The Book of Eli.^[40]

In 1997, Oldman directed, produced, and wrote the award-winning Nil by Mouth, a movie partially based on his own childhood.^[12] Nil By Mouth went on to win the BAFTA Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film (shared with Douglas Urbanski) and also the BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay, the Channel 4 Director's Award, and the Empire Award, and was declared by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts as one of the one hundred best films of all time. Recently Nil By Mouth was listed by Time Out as number two of the top 50 best British films ever.

Oldman and producing partner Douglas Urbanski formed the SE8 GROUP to produce Nil By Mouth. The company also produced The Contender, which also starred Oldman. He was also credited as a producer. Oldman has finished his latest screenplay, Chang & Eng, co-written with Darin Strauss, based on the author's book of the same name; SE8 Group will produce. In September 2006 Nokia, Nseries Studio^[41] released the Oldman directed the short film Donut, with music by Tor Hyams. The film was shot with an N93 in order to promote the phone. Oldman also directed the music video for "Red Rover", a song from Jewish rap group Chutzpah's second CD "Hip Hop Fantasy", shot entirely on the N93. Juliet Landau made a 25-minute documentary about the making of the video.

Oldman won a scholarship to the Rose Bruford College, where he received a BA in Theatre Arts in 1979. He had initially applied for enrollment into Britain's prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, but was refused entry. Oldman told Charlie Rose in 1995^[21] that he was told to "find something else to do for a living". Rose, surprised, asked jokingly, "Have you reminded them of this?", to which Oldman replied that "the work speaks for itself." Following his graduation from Rose Bruford College, he later studied with the Greenwich Young People's Theatre and went on to appear in a number of stage plays 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 of 1985.

Oldman has had a keen interest in music from an early age. He is a fluent pianist and stated in a 1995 interview with Charlie Rose that he would rather be a musician than an actor.^[21] Oldman sang and played live piano in the 1988 movie Track 29, and traced over Beethoven compositions in 1994's Immortal Beloved. He also tutored Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe on bass guitar.^[42] Oldman appeared on Reeves Gabrels' album The Sacred Squall of Now, performing a vocal duet with David Bowie on the track "You've Been Around".^[43]

Oldman has long established a cult following among film fans, perhaps due to his apathetic stance on fame and fortune,^[4] his versatile performances,^[2] and affable real-life persona.^[44] Oldman remains one of the most popular portrayers of movie villains amongst film fans: his array of villainous roles, such as Count Dracula in Bram Stoker's Dracula, Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg in The Fifth Element, Norman Stansfield in Léon, Drexl Spivey in True Romance and Ivan Korshunov in Air Force One have seen a page dedicated entirely to him on the movievillains.com website.^[8] MTV's Celebrity Deathmatch also aired a match between Oldman and Christopher Walken to determine the greatest cinematic villain.^[45]

Oldman shared scenes with Matt LeBlanc during his appearance on Friends, three years after acting with him on Lost In Space, where Oldman's character insists that "real" actors spit on one another when they enunciate. The ensuing spitting confrontation between the two, has become one of the more popular cameos of the series, and saw Oldman receive an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.^[46] Oldman's character also has to dispel Joey's belief that despite his formidable acting abilities, he has never won an Academy Award. This was perhaps a subtle knock on the much-questioned fact, among Oldman fans, that he has never been nominated for such an award, despite a number of critically acclaimed roles.^[2]

Younger stars cite Oldman's influence, including Brad Pitt,^[47] Daniel Radcliffe,^[48] Shia LaBeouf,^[49] Christian Bale^[50][51] and in particular, Ryan Gosling, who has cited Oldman as his all-time favorite actor.^[52][53][54] Oldman has also received acclaim from critics over the years for his diversity of roles and use of diverse accents.^[3][2] Revered film critic Roger Ebert has long been a fan of Oldman's work, hailing him as "one of the great actors, able to play high, low, crass, noble",^[55] while Janet Maslin called him a "phenomenal" actor who "since Sid and Nancy has taken on a string of new accents and dramatic identities with stunning ease."^[56] Oldman's acting style has, however, occasionally been referred to as being over-the-top by some critics.^[57][58] He has recently stated, however, that he seeks to play less eccentric and villainous roles at this stage in his career.^[59][60]

In contrast to his often dark on-screen roles, Oldman has often been called friendly and down-to-earth,^[44] and he was recently named as one of Empire magazine's "100 Sexiest Stars in Film History."^[61] Motion pictures starring Oldman as leading actor or supporting co-star have grossed over $2.3 billion at the United States box office, and over $5.7 billion worldwide.^[62]

Despite numerous lead and supporting roles in major Hollywood productions, Oldman is intensely private with his personal life and is known for his stance on celebrity and the ideals of Hollywood, once stating that "being famous, that's a whole other career. And I haven't got any energy for it."^[4] Oldman was born and brought up in London, England, but moved to the United States in the early 1990s.^[63] He currently resides in Los Angeles, California with his young family.^[64] He was known for his problems with alcohol during the 1990s; in 1991, he was arrested for drunk driving along with friend and fellow actor Kiefer Sutherland.^[65] After a string of alcohol-fuelled debacles he checked himself into Marworth treatment facility in Waverly, Pennsylvania, for alcoholism treatment in 1993.^[66] In subsequent interviews Oldman acknowledged his problems with alcohol and called himself a "recovering" alcoholic on a 2001 interview with Charlie Rose.^[21] In 2001, former wife Donya Fiorentino claimed that Oldman had a drug habit and abused her,^[67] a claim which was investigated by the family courts, child custody evaluator, the police, and Los Angeles city attorney. Oldman was awarded legal custody of their children; Fiorentino was granted short court-monitored visits. As of 2007^[update], Oldman lives a teetotal lifestyle and attributes his success in beating his addiction to Alcoholics Anonymous, and has since publicly praised the organization.^[68] On December 31 2008, in a private, formal ceremony, Oldman married Alexandra Edenborough in Santa Barbara, California.^[69]

Oldman has been married four times:

• Lesley Manville (1988–1990)
• Uma Thurman (1990–1992)
• Donya Fiorentino (1997–2001)
• Alexandra Edenborough (2008-present)

He has three sons: Alfie (b. 1988) from his marriage to Manville, Gulliver Flynn (b. Aug 20, 1997) and Charlie John (b. Feb 1999) from his marriage to Fiorentino.^[65] His sister, Laila Morse, is also an actress, best known as Mo Harris in the BBC's long-running series EastEnders.

• Gary Oldman at IMDb
• Template:Ymovies name
• Interview with Gary Oldman on his directorial debut – Nil by Mouth

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