page_title: Gary Oldman
section_title: Resurgence and franchise stardom (2004–2016)
hierarchical_section_title: Gary Oldman / Acting career / Resurgence and franchise stardom (2004–2016)
caption_attribution_description: Gary Oldman at the London premiere of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. BFI South Bank, Tuesday 13th September 2011
context_page_description: Gary Leonard Oldman is an English actor and filmmaker. Among other accolades, he has won an Academy Award, three British Academy Film Awards, two Critics' Choice Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Known for his versatility and intense acting style, he is regarded as one of the greatest actors of his generation. His films have grossed over $11 billion worldwide, making him one of the highest-grossing actors of all time.
  Oldman began acting in theatre in 1979 and made his film debut in Remembrance. He continued to lead a stage career, during which he performed at London's Royal Court and was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, with credits including Cabaret, Romeo and Juliet, Entertaining Mr Sloane, Saved, The Country Wife, and Hamlet. He rose to prominence in British film with his portrayals of Sid Vicious in Sid and Nancy, Joe Orton in Prick Up Your Ears, and Rosencrantz in Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead while also garnering attention as the leader of a gang of football hooligans in the controversial television film The Firm.
context_section_description: In 2004, Oldman returned to prominence when he landed a starring role in the Harry Potter film series, playing Harry Potter's godfather Sirius Black. The following year, he starred as James Gordon in Christopher Nolan's commercially and critically successful Batman Begins, a role that he reprised in the even more successful sequel The Dark Knight (2008) and once more in the conclusion, The Dark Knight Rises (2012). Film critic Mark Kermode, in reviewing The Dark Knight, downplayed claims that Heath Ledger's Joker was the highlight of the film, saying, "the best performance in the film, by a mile, is [by] Gary Oldman... it would be lovely to see him get a[n Oscar] nomination because actually, he's the guy who gets kind of overlooked in all of this." Oldman co-starred with Jim Carrey in the 2009 version of A Christmas Carol in which Oldman played three roles. He had a starring role in David Goyer's supernatural thriller The Unborn, released in 2009. In 2010, Oldman co-starred with Denzel Washington in The Book of Eli. He also played a lead role in Catherine Hardwicke's Red Riding Hood. Oldman voiced the role of villain Lord Shen and was nominated for an Annie Award for his performance in Kung Fu Panda 2.
  Oldman received strong reviews and earned his first Academy Award nomination and a BAFTA Award nomination for his portrayal of British spy George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), an adaptation of the John le Carré novel, directed by Tomas Alfredson. To prepare for the role of George Smiley, Oldman gained 15 pounds, watched Alec Guinness' performance in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and paid a visit to Smiley's creator John le Carré to perfect the character's voice. In 2012, Oldman played Floyd Banner, a big-hitting mobster, in John Hillcoat's Lawless, alongside Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf, Guy Pearce and Jessica Chastain. The following year, he portrayed Nicholas Wyatt, a ruthless CEO, in Robert Luketic's Paranoia, along with Harrison Ford and Liam Hemsworth. In 2014, Oldman starred alongside Joel Kinnaman, Abbie Cornish, Michael Keaton and Samuel L. Jackson in the remake of RoboCop, as Norton, the scientist who creates the title character.
  Also that year, Oldman starred in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes as one of the leads alongside Jason Clarke and Keri Russell. In a promotional interview published in the July/August issue of Playboy magazine, Oldman slammed what he saw as excessive political correctness in American media, alleged discriminating hypocrisy by entertainers who hide "behind comedy and satire to say things we can't ordinarily say", and downplayed the convictions behind offensive slurs said by actors Alec Baldwin and Mel Gibson, attributing their statements to anger and inebriation, respectively. He went on to say that Gibson – who had faced censure for antisemitic remarks – had "bitten the hand that [feeds]", being in "a town that's run by Jews" (referring to Hollywood). Oldman stressed that he is not "a fascist or a racist", but was nevertheless criticised for his comments. He issued multiple apologies, including on the 25 June edition of late-night talk show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, where he described the remarks as "offensive, insensitive, pernicious and ill-informed". Both the Anti-Defamation League and the Simon Wiesenthal Center welcomed Oldman's contrition (the latter inviting him to its Museum of Tolerance to screen 2017's Darkest Hour). Director David Fincher told Playboy, "I know him very well... Gary's not cruel. He's an incredibly thoughtful guy."
  In 2015, Oldman played the head of police that investigates Tom Hardy's character in Child 44, alongside Noomi Rapace and Joel Kinnaman, and had a supporting role in the post-apocalyptic American thriller Man Down, directed by Dito Montiel, and starring alongside Shia LaBeouf and Kate Mara. In 2016, Oldman played a CIA chief in Criminal, directed by Ariel Vromen, and starring Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones, Ryan Reynolds, Alice Eve, and Gal Gadot.
caption: Oldman at the London premiere of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy in October 2011
exif: {}