Biography for
Gary Oldman More at IMDb Pro »

Date of Birth

21 March 1958, New Cross, London, England, UK

Birth Name

Leonard Gary Oldman

Nickname

Gaz

Height

5' 9" (1.75 m)

Mini Biography

Gary Oldman, the son of a welder and a homemaker, won a scholarship to Britain's Rose Bruford Drama College, where he received a B.A. in theatre arts in 1979. He subsequently studied with the Greenwich Young People's Theatre and went on to appear in a number of plays throughout the early '80s, 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 for 1985. His film debut was in the 1986 biopic Sid and Nancy (1986), wherein he played Sex Pistol Sid Vicious, picking up the Evening Standard Film Award as Best Newcomer. In 1988, he received a Best Actor nomination from the British Academy of Film and TV Arts for his portrayal of '60s playwright 'Joe Orton'. His ability to transform himself physically and his command of accents have allowed him to play a broad range of characters and a number of historical figures, including, in addition to those mentioned above, Lee Harvey Oswald (JFK (1991)) and Ludwig van Beethoven (Immortal Beloved (1994)).

IMDb Mini Biography By: Denise P. Meyer (dpm1@cornell.edu)

Spouse

Donya Fiorentino	(16 February 1997 - 13 April 2001) (divorced) 2 children
Uma Thurman	(1 October 1990 - 30 April 1992) (divorced)
Lesley Manville	(1987 - 1990) (divorced) 1 child

Trade Mark

Characters are usually borderline psychotics. Also known for playing a wide variety of roles that often requires a variety of different accents.

Trivia

Brother of Laila Morse.

Considered a career in music.

Has one son, Alfie Oldman, born in 1988, from his first marriage to Lesley Manville.

Dated Isabella Rossellini, met through Immortal Beloved (1994).

Sons, with Donya Fiorentino: Gulliver Flynn Oldman, born 20 August 1997 and Charlie John, born 11 February 1999.

Was arrested for drunk driving in L.A. and released on bail the next morning. His passenger in the car was pal, Kiefer Sutherland. [8 August 1991]

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's ever been in.

He and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) co-star Timothy Spall have both played the character of Rosencrantz; Spall in Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet (1996), Oldman in Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1990).

He was awarded the 1985 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama Theatre Award) for Best Actor for his performance in "The Pope's Wedding".

Has played Lee Harvey Oswald in both JFK (1991) and "Frontline: Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald? (#11.20)" (1993).

Dated model-actress Ailsa Marshall from 2002-2005.

His film Nil by Mouth (1997) 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 (2005). George Lucas later chose the anonymous audition of Matthew Wood for the role instead.

Henry & June (1990) is the only film in which he's been credited as "Maurice Escargot".

Appears in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) with Ralph Fiennes. Both of them have played villains in the Hannibal Lecter series: Fiennes played Francis Dolarhyde in Red Dragon (2002), and Oldman played Mason Verger in Hannibal (2001).

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1990) was released on DVD the day after his 47th birthday.

Member of jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1993.

Graduated from Rose Bruford Drama College 3 year acting course BA-Hons, London, England.

In two movies, his characters have had dynamic relationships with mob bosses named Falcone. In Romeo Is Bleeding (1993), he was working FOR Don Falcone, and in Batman Begins (2005), he was working to bring down Carmine Falcone. In both instances, his character was a cop.

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 (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008) and as Sirius Black in the middle three Harry Potter films: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007).

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 like-able, sympathetic characters like Sirius Black (in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)) and Jim Gordon (in Batman Begins (2005)).

Actor Ryan Gosling lists Oldman as his favorite actor.

He and his ex-wife, Uma Thurman, have both appeared in Batman films. Thurman played Poison Ivy in Batman & Robin (1997), and Oldman played James Gordon in Batman Begins (2005).

Uncle of Gerry Bromfield and Tracy Bromfield.

His performance as Sid Vicious in Sid and Nancy (1986) is ranked #62 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).

Trained at Rose Bruford Drama School Sidcup, Kent. Others who trained there include actors Freddie Jones, Ray Fearon, Tom Baker and Stephen Armourae.

Despite a number of critically acclaimed roles, he has never been nominated for an Academy Award.

Spokesperson for Nokia.

Performed a vocal duet with David Bowie for the song "You've Been Around" on the 1995 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 Bo Barrett, Ryan Gosling and Shia LaBeouf .

Is very close to actor and co-star in the Harry Potter franchise Daniel Radcliffe.

His sister Laila Morse plays the character "Big Mo" in the British soap opera "EastEnders" (1985).

Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#72). [2007].

Harry Potter co-actor Jason Isaacs lists him as one of his favorite actors.

Lives in Los Angeles.

Directed a music video for Jewish Hip-Hop group Chutzpah shot entirely on Nokia Cell Phones. Actress Juliet Landau directed a 25 minute documentary about the making of the Music Video.

Personal Quotes

I don't think Hollywood knows what to do with me. I would imagine that when it comes to romantic comedies, my name would be pretty low down on the list.

We're given a code to live our lives by. We don't always follow it but it's still there.

[on portraying famous people]: It's a double-edged sword because, in one sense, you have a lot of material to work with, but in a strange kind of way, that puts up a framework that you have to keep within. You can't play Beethoven with pink hair but, to an extent, because no-one has ever met him, who's going to tell me that's not Beethoven?

With Beethoven (Immortal Beloved (1994)) I said I wanted a role where I didn't have to do anything stupid with my hair. My agent said "Read it again!".

[on making Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)]: I've done so much R-rated work, it's nice to have a job you can show your kids.

I had this idea of myself as a shy, kind, sweet chap. I was working with Winona Ryder and she turned to me and said, "Fuck, man, you're really intense!" I was so shocked, I went, "What do you mean? I'm not intense, I'm sweet!" My passion and energy get mistaken for anger.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, it's not Dracula crying, it's Gary Oldman, but using the technique of the character. The emotion is mine, because I don't know what it's like to be undead and live 300 years.

Any actor who tells you that they have become the people they play, unless they're clearly diagnosed as a schizophrenic, is bullshitting you.

I used to be under the impression that in some kind of wanky, bullshit way, acting was like therapy: you get in and grapple with and exorcise all those demons inside of you. I don't believe that anymore. It's like a snow shaker. You shake the thing up, but it can't escape the glass. It can't get out. And it will settle until the next time you shake it up.

[On the shooting for his writing/directing debut Nil by Mouth (1997)]: I set aside three weeks for rehearsals. Those long scenes are like a play. But I wanted things loosely structured, more like jazz. Though there was very little improv on screen, sometimes we'd improvise, rev up, to get the energy before shooting. One rule that I broke was that you need to leave a little air between people's lines, that you can't overlap dialogue because you'll clip words on a cut. But you can overlap dialogue, even though editors don't like it. Otherwise, it's your turn to talk, my turn. Another thing: I used only one camera! I'd say to the cameraman, "I need it from this angle!" From my brief association with Isabella Rossellini, I got a new appreciation of Pier Paolo Pasolini and how he was religious about where the camera should go, whether it was too high, too low. I would ask questions on the set, quietly: "For this emotion, is the camera angle too wide, is the camera too low?" I wanted night to look like night! I bullied the cameraman a bit until he got into the swing. You could pick up the light metre and say, seeing how little light, "You've got to be fucking joking!"

Change is vital to any actor. If you keep playing lead after lead, you're really gonna dry up. Because all those vehicles wean you away from the truths of human behaviour.

There's an uncanny thing that chemically happens to you when you're in the chronic stages of alcoholic drinking. I have been able, on occasions, to have two bottles of vodka and still be up talking to people. That got very frightening. By nature I'm an isolationalist, so my boozing was at home, thank you. I was not a goer-outer. I mean, I didn't drink for the taste and I didn't want to be social. Someone once described alcoholics as egomaniacs with low self-esteem. Perfect definition.

To be able to do this job in the first place you've got to have a bit of an ego.

I applaud anything that can take a kid away from a PlayStation or a Gameboy. That is a miracle in itself.

I suddenly got obsessive about boxing and Muhammad Ali around the time he was fighting Joe Frazier. I went off and did boxing. I looked incredibly good in the gym.

(On True Romance) I organized Drexl's dreadlocks under my own steam. Then I went to the dentist who made the teeth. Then I thought about the weird eye. I'm only in the film for about 10 minutes - I wanted to make my mark.

(On True Romance) I hadn't read the script, and knew nothing about it. Tony (Scott) and I had tea at the Four Seasons and he said, 'Look, I can't really explain the plot. But Drexl's a pimp who's white but thinks he's black.' That was all I needed to hear. I said, 'Yes, I'll do it.'

(2008) There are roles that you play. I've played roles that it happens easier than others, it doesn't feel like you're working, it's as easy as breathing. And there are other ones that you really have to work hard for. It's often because of the writing.

Salary

The Dark Knight (2008)	$3,000,000
Jesus (1999) (TV)	$1,000,000
Lost in Space (1998)	$5,000,000

Where Are They Now

(August 2007) In Chicago Illinois filming 'The Dark Knight'

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