Gary Oldman
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Gary Oldman (born March 21, 1958) is an English actor, born Leonard Gary Oldman in New Cross, London, England.
He won a scholarship to the Rose Bruford College, where he received a BA in Drama in 1979. 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 first appeared on screen in the film Remembrance in 1982, going on to win his first starring role in Sid and Nancy (1986), in which he played the Sex Pistols' ill-fated bassist Sid Vicious. He has become known for playing eccentrics and for his mastery of accents. He has played a variety of famous characters including Dracula, Ludwig van Beethoven, Lee Harvey Oswald, Commissioner Gordon, Dr. Zachary Smith, Shakespeare's Rosencrantz, Sirius Black, Pontius Pilate, and the Devil. He has played many villains, including a pimp (True Romance), a disfigured pedophile (Hannibal), a vindictive House chairman (The Contender), a futuristic mass murderer (The Fifth Element), a corrupt cop (Léon), a sadistic prison warden (Murder in the First), a Russian terrorist (Air Force One), and a violent football hooligan (The Firm.)
-->In 1997, he directed, produced, and wrote Nil by Mouth, partially based on his life, which went on to win the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film, a BAFTA Award, 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 despite containing the word "fuck" 470 times, a record that stood until the 2005 release of The Devil's Rejects.
Oldman has been married three times: to Lesley Manville (1987 - 1990), Uma Thurman (1990 - 1992), and Donya Fiorentino (1997 - 2001). He also has three sons, Alfie (b. 1988) by Manville and Gulliver Flynn (b. 1997) and Charlie John by Fiorentino. He and Fiorentino share custody of them.
Filmography
- Untitled Batman Begins Sequel (2008).... James Gordon
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007).... Sirius Black
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005).... Sirius Black
- Batman Begins (2005).... Lt. James Gordon
- Who's Kyle? (2004).... Scouse
- Dead Fish (2004).... Lynch
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004).... Sirius Black
- Sin (2003).... Charlie Strom
- Tiptoes (2003).... Rolfe
- (2003).... Rasputin "Rocky" Kuznetskov, Agent Masterson
- (2002).... Devil
- Interstate 60 (2002).... O.W. Grant
- Hannibal (2001).... Mason R. Verger
- Nobody's Baby (2001).... Buford Hill
- The Contender (2000).... Rep. Sheldon Runyon
- Jesus (TV) (1999).... Pontius Pilate
- Quest for Camelot (1998).... voice of Baron Ruber
- Lost in Space (1998).... Dr. Zachary Smith
- Air Force One (1997).... Igor Korshunov
- The Fifth Element (1997).... Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg
- Basquiat (1996).... Albert Milo
- The Scarlet Letter (1995).... Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale
- Murder in the First (1995).... Milton Glenn
- Immortal Beloved (1994).... Ludwig van Beethoven
- Léon (1994).... Norman Stansfield
- Romeo Is Bleeding (1993).... Jack Grimaldi
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- True Romance (1993).... Drexl Spivey
- Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992).... Dracula
- Heading Home (TV) (1991).... Ian Tyson
- JFK (1991).... Lee Harvey Oswald
- Henry & June (1990).... Pop (as Maurice Escargot)
- State of Grace (1990).... Jackie Flannery
- Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1990).... Rosencrantz
- Chattahoochee (1989).... Emmett Foley
- The Firm (TV) (TV) (1988).... Bex Bissell
- We Think the World of You (1988).... Johnny
- Criminal Law (1988).... Ben Chase
- Track 29 (1988).... Martin
- Prick Up Your Ears (1987).... Joe Orton
- Sid and Nancy (1986).... Sid Vicious
- Honest, Decent & True (TV) (1985).... Derek Bates
- Morgan's Boy (TV) (1984).... Colin
- Meantime (TV) (1984).... Coxy the Skinhead
- Remembrance (1982).... Daniel
Trivia
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- The only other actor since Lon Chaney Sr. to be named "Man of a Thousand Faces" due to his ability to become whatever character he plays.
- He auditioned for the voice of General Grievous in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, and was rumoured to have won the part when his publicist jumped the gun. In reality he was never offered the part and to save face his publicist claimed that he had backed out after learning the film was to be made outside of the Screen Actor's Guild.
- His sister is EastEnders actress Laila Morse.
- Oldman's portrayal of Norman Stansfield in Léon is generally regarded as one of the best villains in movie history, ranking 43rd on the Online Film Critics Society's list of the Greatest Screen Villains Of All Time. [link]
- He has played the Devil in both the Guns N' Roses music video for "Since I Don't Have You" as well as the BMW short film Beat the Devil.
- He earned the nickname "Scary Gary" during production of Air Force One.
- His favourite band is Alice in Chains.
- Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead was released on DVD the day after his 47th birthday.
- Oldman appears in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire with Ralph Fiennes. Both of them have played villains in Hannibal Lecter films. Oldman played Mason Verger in Hannibal, and Fiennes played Francis Dolarhyde in Red Dragon.
- Oldman's almost unrecognisable performance in Tony Scott's True Romance was based on a fellow actor friend named Willi One Blood - coincedentally, both of them acted together the next year in Léon.
- In February 2006, an angry reaction from Harry Potter fans arose, due to rumours that Oldman or his character, Sirius Black, may not feature in the new Harry Potter film. The basis for these rumours is the lack of any information about his involvement and his agents stating that they had heard nothing. Fury was increased on [March 20th] when Oldman's agent, Douglas Urbanski, said that Oldman would not accept the part if offered a contract later than a week from the time of this statement. Things finally settled down when Urbanski [confirmed in an interview] on March 21 that an agreement had been reached.
- The nickname "Crazy Gary Oldman" is believed to have originated in a 2004 parody of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban on the Livejournal site Movies in 15 Minutes, where Oldman's character Sirius Black is on a wanted poster, screaming: "I'M SO CRAZY! LOOK AT ME! I'M CRAZY GARY OLDMAN!". Since that, this gag has been repeated in several parodies, and the name obviously caught on. Although the name is popular among fond fans, Oldman himself is not very happy at being called "crazy". Other nicknames include "The Lord of the Accents" and "The Chameleon".
- Despite a number of critically acclaimed roles, he has never been nominated for an Academy Award.
- In one episode of The Simpsons titled I Am Furious Yellow Bart asks Homer his opinion about being portrayed by John Goodman in the "Angry Dad" movie. Homer then states "That's so obvious- it should be Gary Oldman!".
External links
- [GaryOldman.info] (fan site)
- [The Gary Oldman Screencap Gallery]
- [A Tribute and Documentation of and for Gary Oldman]
- [Movies in 15 Minutes]. Famous parody of Prisoner of Azkaban containing phrase "Crazy Gary Oldman."
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