Line #27 Creator/GaryOldman


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4	[[quoteright:275:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_hips_hearstapps_com_gary_oldman_attends_the_90th_annual_academy_awards_at_news_photo_1586562398.png]]
5	[[caption-width-right:275:''[[Film/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban He did his waiting! Twelve years of it!]]'']]
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7	->''"The thing a drama school can't give you is instinct. It can sharpen instinct but that can't be taught, and you have to have intuition. It's an essential ingredient."''
8
9	Gary Leonard Oldman (born 21 March 1958 in London, England) is an English actor who found fame in roles such as Music/SidVicious in the 1986 biopic ''Sid & Nancy'' and the title character of the 1992 blockbuster ''Film/BramStokersDracula''. Often hailed as one of the greatest chameleons of his time, it can be almost impossible to spot him from one role to the next. He is known for portraying real-life figures, like the aforementioned Sid Vicious, or [[{{Film/JFK}} Lee Harvey Oswald]]. Oldman is also known for playing the main villain, particularly [[EvilIsHammy hugely]] [[ObviouslyEvil obvious]] villains whom everyone trusts anyway, in movies (such as ''Film/TheProfessional'', ''Film/AirForceOne'' and ''Film/TheFifthElement'')... except for when he [[Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy hangs out with Batman]] or [[Film/HarryPotter Harry Potter]], or when he's Beethoven or [[Film/RosencrantzAndGuildensternAreDead Guildenstern]]... We're pretty sure he was Guildenstern. (He's actually [[Film/RosencrantzAndGuildensternAreDead Rosencrantz]], but [[ThoseTwoGuys who's keeping track]]?)
10
11	But besides these four, when Oldman isn't the villain, he's just plain crazy. (Ever seen [[LargeHam his guest spot]] on ''Series/{{Friends}}''?) [[ByronicHero And it's not like Sirius doesn't have his moments]]. Despite his obvious villain roles, he can play an excellent [[TheChessmaster chessmaster]], though still usually with a patina of dark humour. However, as turkeys like ''WesternAnimation/QuestForCamelot'' and ''Film/TheUnborn'' demonstrate, he also has an unfortunate tendency to [[MoneyDearBoy do anything for money]] ([[Film/RevengeOfTheSith except, of course, when it's a non-union project]]).
12
13	He has directed one film, ''Nil By Mouth'', a deeply grim, [[ClusterFBomb profanity]]-[[CountryMatters laden]] film about a dysfunctional family living in East London (allegedly inspired by his own rough childhood). He also directed the live stream of a Music/JackWhite concert.
14
15	His career is seen as a good indicator of how actors have to ''actively pursue'' awards. It took him '''thirty''' years to receive an Oscar nomination (for ''Film/TinkerTailorSoldierSpy''), despite his undeniable talent, and it's pretty clear that he just doesn't care about that sort of thing. He did finally win in 2018 for playing Winston Churchill in ''Film/{{Darkest Hour\|2017}}''.
16
17	Has a [[HoYay very special]] [[http://www.tim-roth.com/?id=penpal friendship]] with Creator/TimRoth. He was previously married to Creator/LesleyManville.
18
19	In an amusing coincidence, he was born in the same month as Music/GaryNuman. Ironically, Numan is actually the ''older'' of the two, albeit by only thirteen days.[[note]] Though, to be fair, Gary Oldman is actually his real name, while Numan's surname is actually Webb.[[/note]]
20	----
21	!!Notable for:
22
23	[[foldercontrol]]
24
25	[[folder:Films]]
26	* ''Film/SidAndNancy'' (1986) — Music/SidVicious. His first starring role. Even Music/JohnLydon (who was not consulted for the movie about his former friend and bandmate and had little good to say about the biopic) said Oldman was "quite good."
27	* ''Film/PrickUpYourEars'' (1987) — Joe Orton
28	* ''Film/RosencrantzAndGuildensternAreDead'' (1990) — Rosencrantz ("What?" "...Guildenstern." "''What?"'')
29	* ''Film/HenryAndJune'' (1990) - Pop
30	* ''Film/{{JFK}}'' (1991) — Lee Harvey Oswald
31	* ''Film/BramStokersDracula'' (1992) — Count Dracula, an obvious villain whom everyone trusts.
32	* ''Film/TrueRomance'' (1993) — Drexl Spivey, the pimp who fancies himself a black rastafarian.
33	* ''Film/RomeoIsBleeding'' (1993) — Jack Grimaldi
34	* ''Immortal Beloved'' (1994) — Music/LudwigVanBeethoven
35	* ''Leon'' (or) ''Film/TheProfessional'' (1994) — Norman Stansfield ("Bring me... everyone", "Whaddaya mean "everyone—", "[[MemeticMutation EEVVVERRYYYYONNNEEEE]]!"). Despite being a complete maniac, Stansfield is a chief inspector and [[NaughtyNarcs DEA agent]], making him another obvious villain whom everyone trusted.
36	* ''Film/MurderInTheFirst'' (1995) — Warden Milton Glenn
37	* ''[[Film/TheScarletLetter1995 The Scarlet Letter]]'' (1995) — Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale
38	* ''Film/{{Basquiat}}'' (1996) — Albert Milo
39	* ''Film/TheFifthElement'' (1997) — Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg
40	* ''Film/AirForceOne'' (1997) — Ivan Korshunov
41	* ''Film/LostInSpace'' (1998) — Dr. Smith, one of his extremely obvious villain roles (whom everyone trusted) from 1998, according to WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic.
42	* ''WesternAnimation/QuestForCamelot'' (1998) — Sir Ruber, the other, even more blindingly obvious villain role who was so implicitly trusted he was a knight at the round table.
43	* ''Film/TheContender'' (2000) — Rep. Sheldon Runyon
44	* ''[[Film/TheSilenceOfTheLambs Hannibal]]'' (2001) — The horribly disfigured Mason Verger (trusted by everyone). He was left uncredited in this role, which led a [[Creator/CleolindaJones Movies in 15 Minutes]] review to speculate:
45	--> '''[=M15M=]''': And in a role so disgusting even '' Gary Oldman'' [[EvenEvilHasStandards didn't want his name on it]]...
46	* ''Film/TinyTiptoes'' (2003) — Rolfe, a dwarf
47	* ''Film/HarryPotter'' (2004 -- 2011) — [[Characters/HarryPotterSiriusBlack Sirius Black]]
48	* ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'' (2005 -- 2012) — Commissioner Gordon
49	** ''Film/BatmanBegins'' (2005)
50	** ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' (2008)
51	** ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' (2012)
52	* ''Film/TheUnborn'' (2009) — Rabbi Sendak
53	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Planet 51}}'' (2009) — General Grawl
54	* ''Film/TheBookOfEli'' (2010) — Carnegie
55	* ''Film/RedRidingHood'' (2011) — Father Solomon. Trusted by absolutely nobody. Nah, just kidding, trusted by everyone.
56	* ''Film/TinkerTailorSoldierSpy'' (2011) — George Smiley
57	* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2'' (2011) — Lord Shen
58	* ''Film/{{Lawless}}'' (2012) — Floyd Banner
59	* ''Film/GunsGirlsAndGambling'' (2012) — Elvis
60	* ''{{Film/RoboCop\|2014}}'' (2014) — Dr. Norton
61	* ''Film/DawnOfThePlanetOfTheApes'' (2014) — Dreyfus
62	* ''Film/{{Criminal\|2016}}'' (2016) — Quaker Wells
63	* ''Film/TheHitmansBodyguard'' — Vladislav Dukhovich
64	* ''Film/{{Darkest Hour\|2017}}'' (2017) — UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill, his first Oscar for Best Actor.
65	* ''Film/{{TAU}}'' (2018) as Tau.
66	* ''Film/TheLaundromat'' (2019) — Jurgen Mossack
67	* ''Film/{{The Courier\|2019}}'' (2019) - Ezekiel Mannings
68	* ''Literature/{{The Woman in the Window\|2018}}'' (2021) – Alistair Russell
69	* ''Film/{{Mank}}'' (2020) — Herman J. Mankiewicz
70	* ''Film/{{Oppenheimer}}'' (2023) – UsefulNotes/HarrySTruman
71	[[/folder]]
72
73	[[folder:TV Series]]
74	* ''Series/{{Friends}}'' as Richard Crosby
75	* ''Series/Jesus1999'' as Pontius Pilate
76	* ''Series/SlowHorses'' as Jackson Lamb
77	[[/folder]]
78
79	[[folder:Video Games]]
80	* ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorAlliedAssault'' ''Spearhead'' — Sergeant Jack Barnes
81	* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyWorldAtWar'' — Sergeant Reznov
82	* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps'' — Viktor Reznov / Dr. Clarke
83	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyro'' — Ignitus
84	* ''VideoGame/LegoDimensions'' — Lord Vortech
85	* ''VideoGame/StarCitizen'' — Admiral Bishop
86	[[/folder]]
87
88	[[folder:WebVideo]]
89	* ''WebVideo/TheHire: Beat the Devil'' — The Lord of Darkness, Satan himself.
90	[[/folder]]
91
92	!!Tropes that apply to Gary Oldman as an actor:
93
94	* AxCrazy: Many of his villainous roles certainly qualify with Norman Stansfield being probably the best example.
95	* BigBad: Oldman is often cast as the antagonist in a lot of movies and [[EvilIsHammy he enjoys hamming it up]].
96	* ChronicallyKilledActor: It comes with often being cast as the villain, and [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix sometimes when not the villain]].
97	* FakeNationality: [[invoked]] He plays a variety of nationalities apart from his native English, to the point where (according to an interview on ''Radio/WaitWaitDontTellMe'') he actually had to work with an accent coach in preparation for ''Film/TinkerTailorSoldierSpy''. His [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIaWo-BlBjs mock PSA against NBA players acting in film]] also makes it obvious that Oldman's original accent has started to fade as a result of living in America for many years.
98	* FauxAffablyEvil: He's very good at playing characters whose outward good manners and charisma mask sadism, depravity and a complete lack of morals.
99	* LargeHam: It comes with being cast as the villain. Even the more heroic roles have him getting over-the-top - the sole exception is ''Film/TinkerTailorSoldierSpy'', where he barely emotes.
100	* ManOfAThousandFaces[=/=]ManOfAThousandVoices: Just look at the list of characters. If you didn't know who was playing them, you'd never think Lee Harvey Oswald, Dracula, Norman Stansfield, Zorg, Commissioner Jim Gordon and Winston Churchill were portrayed by the same actor.
101	* MoneyDearBoy: [[invoked]] Oldman took the role of Sirius Black because he desperately needed the work, not having done a film in over a year. This turned out to be a positive version of the trope though as he thoroughly enjoyed making the films and reprised the role throughout the rest of the series, and, combined with Jim Gordon in ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'', served as a CareerResurrection for him.
102	* PlayingWithCharacterType: [[invoked]] When he was cast in ''Film/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban'' as Sirius Black, a mass-murderer after Harry, no one was surprised. By the end, it's revealed that Sirius never murdered Peter Pettigrew or betrayed Harry's parents, and in later movies he becomes the closest thing Harry has to family (naturally, this came as no surprise to viewers who'd already read the books).
103	* PromotedFanboy: [[invoked]] He did ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2'' because he was a fan of the first one. It also applies to his roles in ''Film/RoboCop2014'' and ''Film/DawnOfThePlanetOfTheApes'', having being a fan of the original film series of both.
104	* {{Typecasting}}: He's often cast as villainous or, at the very least, antiheroic characters. Many are insane or just peculiar. A third field is a ReasonableAuthorityFigure, such as Jim Gordon in ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'', George Smiley in ''Film/TinkerTailorSoldierSpy'' and Dr. Norton in ''Film/RoboCop2014''. Creator/ChristopherNolan mentioned his casting of Oldman as Gordon was a deliberate [[PlayingAgainstType casting against type]].

Context Creator / GaryOldman