Gary Oldman is a talented British born movie actor who played Sid Vicious in Sid & Nancy, Drexl in True Romance, and George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. He starred in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and the remake of RoboCop. He is also an English filmmaker, musician and author. Renowned for his "big" acting style, Oldman is one of the most celebrated thespians of his generation, with a diverse career encompassing theatre, film and television. Gary Oldman was born on March 21, 1958 in New Cross, London, England, the son of Kathleen . He married Alexandra Edenborough on December 31, 2008 until they divorced in January 2015. He was married to actress Uma Thurman from 1990 to 1992. He married his fourth wife Alexandra Edenborough in 2008 but the couple divorced in 2015. He has three sons named Alfie, Gulliver and Charlie.
Considered a career in music.
Has three sons: Alfie Oldman (born 1988) from his first marriage to Lesley Manville. Gulliver Flynn Oldman (born August 20, 1997) and Charlie John Oldman (born February 11, 1999) with Donya Fiorentino.
On August 8, 1991, he was arrested for drunk driving in Los Angeles and released on bail the next morning. His passenger in the car was his friend Kiefer Sutherland.
His library includes essays on Bertolt Brecht , poetry by Roger McGough , a biography of Montgomery Clift , The Elizabethan World Picture, all things William Shakespeare and Jane Austen.
Has used a different speaking voice (i.e. accent) in practically every movie he has ever been in.
He and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire co-star Timothy Spall have both played the character of Rosencrantz; Spall in Kenneth Branagh s Hamlet , Oldman in Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead .
He was awarded the 1985 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama Theatre Award) for Best Actor for his performance in "The Popes Wedding".
Has played Lee Harvey Oswald in both JFK and "Frontline" {Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald? (#11.20)} .
His film Nil by Mouth is loosely based upon his own life growing up in London.
Submitted a recorded voice audition for General Grievous in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith . George Lucas later chose the anonymous audition of Matthew Wood for the role instead.
Henry & June is the only film in which he has been credited as "Maurice Escargot".
Appears in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix with Ralph Fiennes. Both of them have played villains in the Hannibal Lecter series: Fiennes played Francis Dolarhyde in Red Dragon , and Oldman played Mason Verger in Hannibal .
Member of jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1993.
Attended and graduated from Rose Bruford Drama College three year acting course BA-Hons in London, England.
In two movies, his characters have had dynamic relationships with mob bosses named Falcone. In Romeo Is Bleeding , he was working FOR Don Falcone, and in Batman Begins , he was working to bring down Carmine Falcone. In both instances, his character was a policeman.
Like Ian McKellen , he has taken on popular characters in screen adaptations of cult favorite fantasy novels and comic books. He appeared as James Gordon in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight and as Sirius Black in the middle three Harry Potter films: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban , Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire , and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix .
Although he has spent much of his career playing psychotic and sadistic characters, he has recently moved away from that on-screen image by playing more likeable, sympathetic characters like Sirius Black (in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban , Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire , and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ) and James Gordon (in Batman Begins ).
He and his ex-wife, Uma Thurman , have both appeared in Batman films. Thurman played Poison Ivy in Batman & Robin , and Oldman played James Gordon in Batman Begins .
Uncle of Gerry Bromfield and Tracy Bromfield.
His performance as Sid Vicious in Sid and Nancy is ranked #62 on Premiere magazines 100 Greatest Performances of All Time.
Trained at Rose Bruford Drama School Sidcup, Kent. Other actors who trained there include Freddie Jones , Ray Fearon , Tom Baker and Stephen Armourae.
Celebrity spokesperson for Nokia.
Performed a vocal duet with David Bowie for the song "Youve Been Around" on the album "The Sacred Squall of Now" by longtime Bowie guitarist Reeves Gabrels. He is also featured on the song "Stamford Hill" on the same album.
Has been an inspiration to many actors including up and comers Michael Fassbender , Bo Barrett , Ryan Gosling , Shia LaBeouf , Chris Kato and Kaili Thorne.
Is very close to Harry Potter co-star Daniel Radcliffe.
His older sister Laila Morse plays the character Maureen "Big Mo" Harris on the British soap opera "EastEnders" .
Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#72) [2007].
Harry Potter co-star Jason Isaacs lists him as one of his favorite actors.
Currently resides in Los Angeles, California.
Directed a music video for Jewish Hip-Hop group Chutzpah shot entirely on Nokia Cell Phones. Actress Juliet Landau directed a 25 minute documentary - Take Flight: Gary Oldman Directs Chutzpah - about the making of the music video.
Attended the Greenwich and Lewisham Young Peoples Theatre in South East London before going to drama school. Other former attendees are actors Kathy Burke , Stephen Manwaring and Stella Barnes.
Actors Tom Hardy and Alexander Skarsgrd have named Oldman as their favorite actor.
In 2011, he named his five favorite films as Apocalypse Now , The Conversation , The Godfather: Part II , Badlands and Ratcatcher and cites his director from Dracula , Francis Ford Coppola , as his favorite filmmaker.
Is the second actor to be nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for playing a lead character in a John le Carr novel adaptation. This first was Richard Burton for "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold," which featured George Smiley.
Friends with Benedict Cumberbatch.
Was famously told by the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) to find a new career other than acting before training at Rose Bruford.
Received the scar below his right eye during a rehearsal for Meantime , where Tim Roth threw a bottle that hit a light and fell on Oldman.
Before his nod for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy , he was considered one of the greatest actors never nominated for an Oscar.
Director Patrice Chreau originally wanted him for the lead role in Intimacy , which he turned down because of the sex scenes.
Is the third actor to be nominated for an Oscar for playing a role in a John le Carr novel adaptation. The others were Richard Burton for The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Rachel Weisz who won the award for her performance in The Constant Gardener .
Filmed a role in The Thin Red Line but all his scenes were deleted from the final cut.
Has English, with a smaller amount of Irish, ancestry.
Used to work various jobs on assembly lines, as a porter in an operating theatre, selling shoes and beheading pigs in an abattoir.
Auditioned for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) but was rejected and told by advisers that he should consider something besides acting.
As of July 2014, films starring Oldman have grossed over $3.8 billion at the United States box office, and over $9.9 billion worldwide. In 2012, The Hollywood Reporter named Oldman the highest-grossing actor in history, based on lead and supporting roles.
Starred in David Bowie s music video David Bowie: The Next Day alongside Marion Cotillard , his co-star in The Dark Knight Rises .
Actors Tom Hardy and Joseph Gordon-Levitt has citied Oldman as their inspiration.
Turned down the title role in Edward Scissorhands , which went to Johnny Depp.
Born on the same day as Sabrina Le Beauf.
Shares two roles with his Harry Potter castmate Timothy Spall. They have both played Winston Churchill and Rosencrantz from Shakespeares "Hamlet". He also shares the latter role with Daniel Radcliffe , both of them having played the role in Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead , rather than in a production of the original Hamlet, as Spall did.
[on the shooting for his writing/directing debut,Nil by Mouth (1997) ]: I set aside three weeks for rehearsals.
I applaud anything that can take a kid away from a PlayStation or a,Gameboy. That is a miracle in itself.
[1998, on quitting drinking] There was a day--well, not a day; there was,never just a day. There were three-day, four-day, one-week benders.
[2001, on if he was bothered by not getting an Oscar nomination for,The Contender (2000) , which many thought he would] I cared, yes.
[1997, on Nil by Mouth (1997) ] To be very honest with you, these,lucrative villains subsidize the more personal stuff.
[1990] I made the decision not to always play the token Englishman. I,think the real juicy roles in my generation are going to go to the,American actors.
[1990, on preparing for his role in State of Grace (1990) ] The,only research I did was drinking in Irish bars.
[on his character George Smiley from,Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) ] George is a man of few words.
[on Air Force One (1997) ] That movie had some enjoyable moments.
Nowadays we would take out an iPhone and post something like that on,Instagram.
Speaking very generally, I find that women are spiritually, emotionally, and often physically stronger than men.
By the way, the Harry Potter series is literature, in spite of what some people might say. The way J. K. Rowling worked that world out is quite something.
What other people think of me is none of my business.
I got obsessed with classical music, I got obsessed with Chopin, with playing the piano.
Growing up in a particular neighborhood, growing up in a working-class family, not having much money, all of those things fire you and can give you an edge, can give you an anger.
Rather like Batman, I embody the themes of the movie which are the values of family, courage and compassion and a sense of right and wrong, good and bad and justice.
