Gary Oldman

File:Sirius black hppoa.jpg

Gary Oldman as Sirius Black

Gary Oldman is an English actor, born Leonard Gary Oldman on March 21, 1958 in London, England.

He won a scholarship to the Rose Bruford Drama 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 rocker Sid Vicious. He has become known for playing eccentrics and for his mastery of accents. He has played a variety of characters including Dracula, Ludwig van Beethoven, Lee Harvey Oswald, Pontius Pilate, and the Devil.

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' 410 times, a record that stood until the 2005 release of The Devil's Rejects. In 2005 Gary gave a performance when he played role of Sgt. James Gordon in the most successful movie based on the comic book called Batman Begins.

Because of his convincing acting skills, he has earned various nicknames among his many devoted fans. Among few, there are names such as "The Lord of the Accents" because of his mastery of accents and dialects, which is considered like some sort of trademark. "The Chameleon" is also a popular nickname, since Oldman has starred in many movies and is so unique in his way of truly becoming the character he acts, he has fooled many to think that he is a different person. He has earned the name "Crazy Gary Oldman" as well, because of his charming capacity to act border-line psychotics. Among Harry Potter fans, he is commonly known as "Snuffles".

Oldman has been married three times, to Lesley Manville (1987 - 1990), Uma Thurman (1990 - 1992), and Donya Fiorentino (1997 - 2001).

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
• True Crime: Streets of LA (2003).... Rasputin "Rocky" Kuznetskov, Agent Masterson
• The Hire: Beat the Devil (2002).... Devil
• Interstate 60 (2002).... O.W. Grant
• Hannibal (2001).... Mason Verger uncredited actor
• 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
• 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

• 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.
• 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.
• Henry & June is the only film (so far) in which he has been credited as "Maurice Escargot."
• Brother of EastEnders actress Laila Morse.
• Starred in the Guns N' Roses music video of 'Since I Don't Have You' as the Devil (sometimes called 'Misery').
• Earned the nickname "Scary Gary" during production of Air Force One, due to his chilling portrayal of Ivan Korshunov.
• Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead was released on DVD the day after his 47th birthday.

External links

• GaryOldman.info (fan site)
• Gary Oldman at The Internet Movie Database
• The Gary Oldman Screencap Gallery