Gary Leonard Oldman[3] was born in New Cross, London, on 21 March 1958,[4][5] the son of Leonard Bertram Oldman (1921–1985), a former sailor who also worked as a welder, and Kathleen (née Cheriton; 1919–2018).[6] He said his father was an alcoholic who left the family when Oldman was seven years old.[7] His older sister, Maureen, is an actress better known as Laila Morse; she performed in Oldman's directorial debut Nil by Mouth (1997), before taking on her most famous role of Mo Harris in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.[8]
Oldman attended West Greenwich School in Deptford, leaving at the age of 16 to work in a sports shop.[9] He played piano as a child, but he gave up his musical aspirations to pursue an acting career after seeing Malcolm McDowell's performance in the film The Raging Moon (1971).[10][11][12] In a 1995 interview with Charlie Rose, he said, "Something about Malcolm just arrested me, and I connected, and I said, 'I wanna do that.'"[10]
Growing up in south London, Oldman supported his local football club, Millwall, but also followed Manchester United because he idolised George Best.[8] In 2011, he learned from his mother that his father had played for Millwall just after World War II: "Just after the war, [my mother] ran a boarding house for football players—Millwall players. And I knew that my dad was involved somehow with the reserve team. But two weeks ago my mum said, 'Oh yeah, your dad played for Millwall. When he was young he had a couple of first team games.'"[8]
Oldman studied with the Young People's Theatre in Greenwich during the mid-1970s,[6][13] while working jobs on assembly lines, as a porter in an operating theatre, selling shoes and beheading pigs in an abattoir.[6] He applied unsuccessfully to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), which welcomed him to try again the following year, but advised him to find something else to do for a living.[6][10] When asked by Charlie Rose if he had reminded RADA of this, Oldman joked that "the work speaks for itself".[10]
After leaving drama school, Oldman was the first in his year to receive professional work;[14] he stated that this was not a result of being the most talented actor, but rather diligence and application.[14][15] In 1979, he starred in Thark, opposite Annette Kerr, at York's Theatre Royal.[16] Subsequent plays included Cabaret, Privates on Parade and Romeo and Juliet.[17] In December 1979, Oldman appeared as Puss in Dick Whittington and His Cat, staged at York.[18] He also acted in Colchester, then with Glasgow's Citizens Theatre;[6] Oldman's work ethic and trademark intensity would make him a favourite with audiences in Glasgow during the 1980s. He also toured Europe and South America with the Citizens Theatre company.[13]
Saved proved to be a major breakthrough for Oldman. Max Stafford-Clark, artistic director of the Royal Court Theatre, had seen Oldman's performance and cast him as Scopey, the lead role of Bond's The Pope's Wedding, in 1984.[6] For his acclaimed performance, he won two of British theatre's top honours: the Time OutFringe Award for Best Newcomer, and the Drama Theatre Award for Best Actor—the latter of which was shared with future film co-star Anthony Hopkins for his performance in Pravda.[6][13][19] Oldman's turn in The Pope's Wedding led to a run of work with the Royal Court, and from 1984 to 1986 he appeared in Rat in the Skull (Ron Hutchinson), The Desert Air (Nicholas Wright), Cain and Abel, The Danton Affair (Pam Gems), Women Beware Women (Thomas Middleton), Real Dreams (Trevor Griffiths) and all three of Bond's The War Plays: Red Black and Ignorant, The Tin Can People and Great Peace.[6] Oldman was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1985 to 1986.[20]
1986–1993: Rise to prominence and breakthrough
The 1984 production of The Pope's Wedding had been seen by director Alex Cox, who offered Oldman the part of musician Sid Vicious in the 1986 film Sid and Nancy. He twice turned down the role before accepting it, because, in his own words: "I wasn't really that interested in Sid Vicious and the punk movement. I'd never followed it. It wasn't something that interested me. The script I felt was banal and 'who cares' and 'why bother' and all of that. And I was a little bit sort-of with my nose in the air and sort-of thinking 'well the theatre—so much more superior' and all of that." He reconsidered based on the salary and the urging of his agent.[21]
Oldman's performances in Sid and Nancy and Prick Up Your Ears paved the way for work in Hollywood, garnering acclaim from United States film critic Roger Ebert. Ebert wrote, "There is no point of similarity between the two performances; like a few gifted actors, [Oldman] is able to re-invent himself for every role. On the basis of these two movies, he is the best young British actor around."[23] Vicious's former Sex Pistols bandmate, John Lydon, despite criticising Sid and Nancy, described Oldman as a "bloody good actor".[24] The performance would go on to be ranked No. 62 in Premiere magazine's "100 Greatest Performances of All Time"[25] and No. 8 in Uncut magazine's "10 Best actors in rockin' roles", the latter describing Oldman's portrayal as a "hugely sympathetic reading of the punk figurehead as a lost and bewildered manchild."[26]
In 1990, Oldman costarred with Tim Roth in Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, Tom Stoppard's film adaptation of his own play of the same name. Total Film praised the movie, calling Oldman's character "a blitz of brilliant comedy timing and pitch perfect line delivery."[31] He then starred opposite Sean Penn and Ed Harris in State of Grace (1990); Roger Ebert described Oldman's turn as the highlight,[32] and Janet Maslin referred to his work as "phenomenal".[33] He was offered, but turned down, the lead role in that year's Edward Scissorhands.[34] Oldman moved to the United States in the early 1990s, where he has resided since.[35]
In 1991, he began filming Dylan Thomas, a biopic on Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, with his then-wife Uma Thurman as Caitlin Thomas; production shut down shortly after filming began.[36] Later in 1991, Oldman starred in his first US blockbuster, playing Lee Harvey Oswald in Oliver Stone's JFK. According to Oldman, very little was written about Oswald in the script. Stone gave him several plane tickets, a list of contacts and told him to do his own research.[37] Oldman met with Oswald's wife, Marina, and her two daughters to prepare for the role.[38] He filmed scenes for the 1992 neo-noir thriller Final Analysis, which were cut.[39]
Oldman appeared opposite Jeff Bridges as zealous Republican congressman Sheldon Runyon in The Contender (2000), of which he was also executive producer.[61] Oldman received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for his performance, although some claimed he was dissatisfied with DreamWorks' supposed editing of the film to reflect pro-Democratic leanings. These reports were declared "sloppy sensationalism" by his manager, Douglas Urbanski, who said that Oldman was "the least political person I know". He stressed that neither he nor Oldman had made the statements attributed to them, that they had "produced this film, every last cut and frame", and that DreamWorks "did not influence the final cut or have anything to do with it." Urbanski asserted that Oldman received "creepy phone calls advising him that he was ruining his chances of an Oscar nomination". The notion of Oldman criticising DreamWorks was dispelled as a "myth" by critic Roger Ebert.[62]
In 2001, he starred opposite Anthony Hopkins in Hannibal, as Mason Verger, the only surviving victim of Hannibal Lecter. He spent six hours per day in the make-up room to achieve the character's hideously disfigured appearance, and went uncredited in the film.[63] It marked the second time that Oldman had appeared opposite Hopkins, who was part of the supporting cast of Bram Stoker's Dracula. Oldman then returned to television making two guest appearances in the popular NBC sitcom Friends in May 2001, appearing in the two-part episode "The One With Chandler and Monica's Wedding" as Richard Crosby, a pedantic actor who insists that "real" actors spit on one another when they enunciate, leading to tension, then friendship, with Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc). Oldman had previously worked with LeBlanc on Lost in Space.[64] For his performance he earned a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series nomination losing to Derek Jacobi for his role on Frasier (2001).[65]
Following his Friends appearance, Oldman did not appear in any major roles until 2004; it was suggested that he was blacklisted in Hollywood during this time,[66] following the controversy that had surrounded the release of The Contender. In 2002, he starred in the generally well-received Interstate 60, and played the Devil in the BMW short film, The Hire: Beat the Devil. Guardian writer Xan Brooks described the early 2000s as Oldman's "low point", recalling "barrel-scraping roles" in the 2003 films Tiptoes and Sin.[67] Although the film failed to impress reviewers, Oldman did garner some praise for his portrayal of a man with dwarfism in Tiptoes: Lisa Nesselson in Variety described his work as "astonishingly fine",[68] and the performance was later mentioned in Mark Kermode's "Great Acting in Bad Films".[69]
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. He made his first appearance in The Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) to positive reviews with Kenneth Turan of The Chicago Tribune writing, "Doing especially good work are the key people new to the series. Oldman exhibits a delicacy he hasn't always shown with the character of Sirius Black."[70] He continued to portray him in the films The Goblet of Fire (2005), The Order of the Phoenix (2007), The Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011). The following year, he starred as James "Jim" Gordon in Christopher Nolan's commercially and critically successful Batman Begins (2005), 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".[71]
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",[80] but was nevertheless criticised for his comments.[81] He issued multiple apologies, including on 25 June edition of the late-night talk showJimmy Kimmel Live!, where he described the remarks as "offensive, insensitive, pernicious and ill-informed".[82][83] 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).[83][84] Director David Fincher told Playboy, "I know him very well... Gary's not cruel. He's an incredibly thoughtful guy."[85]
He has been set to play a hitman alongside Dylan O'Brien in The Bayou.[105] Oldman is also slated to direct a biopic about Eadweard Muybridge entitled Flying Horse.[106] In 2022, Oldman starred as a cantankerous manager of intelligence agents in the Apple TV+spy drama television series Slow Horses, based on the book of the same name. Slow Horses marked the first time Oldman played a lead role in a television series.[107] On 20 November 2022, he stated that the series would likely be his last role as he intended to retire from acting once the series ended.[108]
Oldman and producing partner Douglas Urbanski formed the SE8 GROUP to produce Nil by Mouth. The company also produced The Contender, which also starred Oldman. He completed a screenplay, Chang & Eng, co-written with Darin Strauss, based on the author's book of the same name. In September 2006, Nokia Nseries Studio[120] released the Oldman-directed short film Donut, with music by Tor Hyams. The film was shot with an N93 to promote the phone. Juliet Landau made a 25-minute documentary about the making of the video. In 2011, he directed a music video for then-wife Alex Eden's first single, "Kiss Me Like the Woman You Loved".
Music
Oldman has had a keen interest in music from an early age. He is a proficient pianist and stated in a 1995 interview with Charlie Rose that he would rather be a musician than an actor.[10] Oldman sang several tracks on the Sid and Nancy soundtrack, on which he performed alongside original Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock, and sang and played live piano in the 1988 movie Track 29. He traced over Beethoven compositions in 1994's Immortal Beloved,[10] and tutored Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe on bass guitar.[121] Oldman appeared on Reeves Gabrels's album The Sacred Squall of Now, performing a vocal duet with David Bowie on the track "You've Been Around".[122] He produced a live performance by former White Stripes member Jack White in conjunction with Vevo and YouTube.[123] At the 2016 Brit Awards in London, Oldman paid tribute to Bowie, before receiving the Brits "Icon Award" on behalf of the singer and his family.[124]
Voice acting
Oldman participated in the creation of The Legend of Spyro games, produced by Sierra Entertainment. He provided the voice of the Fire Guardian, Ignitus. He voices Sergeant Viktor Reznov and scientist Daniel Clarke in the Call of Duty games. He also provides the narration of Sergeant Jack Barnes in the Spearhead expansion for Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. In 2015 he voiced Lord Vortech, the evil mastermind who seeks to control the LEGO Multiverse, in the Lego Dimensions video game.[125] He will play Admiral Ernst Bishop in the upcoming single-player campaign of the Chris Roberts-designed crowdfunded video game, Squadron 42.[126]
Writing
In 2015, Oldman and his manager Douglas Urbanski signed a deal with the Simon & Schuster/Atria Publishing Group label Emily Bestler Books for Blood Riders, a vampire book series.[127]
Acting style
Oldman studied the teachings of Konstantin Stanislavski and Stella Adler while at drama school but went "off-book", drawing much of his inspiration from American cinema.[14] As a screen actor, Oldman was almost typecast as an anti-social personality early in his career.[45][128] The necessity to express villainous characters in an overtly physical manner led to the cultivation of a "big" acting style that incorporated projection skills acquired during his stage training.[45][129] He further sought to develop a distinctive approach that would distance him from his "stuffy" and "often interchangeable" British peers.[45]
Oldman has conceded that his performances often involve an element of overacting: "It's my influence on those roles that probably [makes them] feel bigger than life and a little over-the-top. I mean, I do go for it a bit as an actor, I must admit."[21] In another interview, he stated, "If it's coming from a sincere place, then I think the screen can hold the epic and it can hold the very, very small."[130] Stuart Heritage of The Guardian wrote, "Finding the definitive Gary Oldman ham performance is like trying to choose which of your children you prefer. The man is a long-term devotee of the art of ham."[131] Conversely, Oldman noted that he enjoys "playing characters where the silence is loud" such as George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011).[67]
Oldman has adopted various accents for roles[33] and portrayed a wide range of characters.[13][19] He is known for his in-depth research of his roles,[132] as well as his devotion to them, at one point being hospitalised after losing significant weight for Sid and Nancy,[133] and another time had to hire a dialect coach to relearn his English accent after nearly adopting an "American twang" due to his children being raised American.[134] In a 2017 interview, he differentiated between immersion and impression:
I have a relatively good ear and can do a few impressions of people. I don't study them, but I think what happens with an impressionist is that they're looking at one particular source. Impressionists have to paint with a very broad stroke because you've got to see it within a couple of seconds. As an actor, though, you look at different aspects of a character. I try to completely surround myself with the assignment. It's like being in a big cloud and then some of it rains through—for instance, looking at not only [Winston] Churchill's way of walking and mannerisms and the way he sounds, but also looking into the psychology.[135]
Reception and legacy
Oldman signing autographs for fans in 2007
Oldman has established a cult following among film fans.[136] He is known for playing the primary antagonist in a number of popular motion pictures,[19] which has seen him referenced in popular culture. At the peak of his popularity in the 1990s, Oldman was dubbed by Empire magazine Hollywood's "psycho deluxe",[137] and was spoofed on popular television shows such as Fox comedy series In Living Color[138] and MTV's Celebrity Deathmatch,[58] as well as drafted in to appear on the first ever cover of Loaded magazine.[139] In 1993, he appeared in the music video for Annie Lennox's international hit "Love Song for a Vampire", written for the soundtrack to Bram Stoker's Dracula, and had a cameo role as the Devil in the video for Guns N' Roses single "Since I Don't Have You"[140]—Oldman also played the Devil in the 2002 BMWshortBeat The Devil, alongside Clive Owen, James Brown and Marilyn Manson.[141] He starred as a sleazy priest in the controversial religious-themed video for David Bowie's 2013 single "The Next Day".[142][143] In contrast to his often dark on-screen roles, Oldman's affable real-life demeanour has been noted,[35] and he was named as one of Empire's "100 Sexiest Stars in Film History" in 2007.[144] In 2011, Empire readers voted him the recipient of the Empire Icon Award, which was presented by Colin Firth.[145]
Washington Post and Independent writers noted that Oldman is regarded as one of the greatest actors of his generation.[8][146] In 2012, Globe and Mail journalist Lynn Crosbie wrote, "Critics never fail to single Oldman out... he is one of a few truly great living actors—arguably, even, the best".[147] Of his diversity, Yahoo! Movies noted that he had "gained a well-earned reputation as a brilliant chameleon";[13] the Houston Chronicle dubbed Oldman "the face of versatility".[148] He is noted for his avoidance of the Hollywood celebrity scene,[149] often being referred to as an "actor's actor".[6] His work has been acclaimed by Hollywood figures: Tom Hardy has described Oldman as his "absolute complete and utter hero"[150] and "hands down, the greatest actor that's ever lived";[30]Brad Pitt,[151]Daniel Radcliffe[152] and Ryan Gosling have also cited Oldman as their favourite actor.[153] Hardy recalled Oldman's influence on students at drama school, stating that "everybody used to quote him in all of his films".[154]Jessica Chastain,[155]Jennifer Lawrence,[155]Joseph Gordon-Levitt,[156]Tom Hiddleston[157] and Chris Pine[158] have also named Oldman as one of their favourite actors.
Film critics have also been vocal in their appreciation of Oldman. Roger Ebert hailed him as "one of the great actors, able to play high, low, crass, noble";[176] while Gene Siskel called him "wonderful"[177] and one of his favourite actors.[178]Peter Travers described Oldman as "one of the best actors on the planet".[179] Prior to his first Academy Award nomination for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Oldman was regarded as one of the greatest actors never nominated for the award;[9][180][181] In 2009, Leigh Singer of the Guardian called him "arguably the best actor never Oscar-nominated."[182] Before winning for Darkest Hour, he also carried the label of the greatest actor never to win an Oscar.[183][184] In 2018, Stuart McGurk of GQ described Oldman as "the master of being brilliant in bad movies".[185]
In 1998, Oldman was honoured at the Camerimage Film Festival, where he was awarded the Krzysztof Kieślowski Award for Acting, the first recipient of the award.[186] In 2011, Oldman received a Tribute Award from the Gotham Awards.[187] In that same year, the Palm Springs International Film Festival announced that Oldman would be receiving its International Star Award, which honours "an actor or actress who has achieved both critical and commercial international recognition throughout their body of work". The PSIFF chairman called Oldman "a performer whose ability to portray the most extreme of characters is a testament to the enormity of his talent".[188] In 2012, The Hollywood Reporter named Oldman the highest-grossing actor in history, based on lead and supporting roles.[189] Films in which he has appeared have grossed over $4.1 billion in the United States, and over $11 billion worldwide.[190]
In 2012, Oldman was among the British cultural icons selected by artist Sir Peter Blake to appear in a new version of his most famous artwork—the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover—to celebrate the British cultural figures of his life that he most admires to mark his 80th birthday.[191] In 2014, he received the Dilys Powell Award For Excellence In Film by the London Film Critics.[192]
In 2018, Oldman received the Variety Award at the British Independent Film Awards, which recognises a director, actor, writer or producer who has made a global impact and helped to focus the international spotlight on the UK Variety's vice-president, Steven Gaydos, remarked that Oldman "has blazed a path as one of international cinema's most versatile and valued actors."[193] In the same year, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival awarded Oldman the Maltin Modern Master Award, the highest accolade awarded by SPIFF that honours an individual who has enriched our culture through accomplishments in the motion picture industry. Leonard Maltin claimed Oldman has "once again proven that he is a force to be reckoned with, and a true master of his craft".[194] Oldman was also awarded his first Career Achievement Award by the Hollywood Film Awards.[195] The Make-up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards as well honoured him with the Distinguished Artisan Award, which IATSE President Susan Cabral-Ebert proclaimed him as "a chameleon, an actor who changes his appearance, his voice, everything about himself from film to film".[196]
After establishing himself as an actor, Oldman moved to Los Angeles in the early 1990s.[35] He employs no publicist and does not go to parties, telling an interviewer in 2007 that he has "dinner at home every night with my kids."[35] In 2014, he described himself as a libertarian.[197]
Oldman's alcoholism was well known during the early 1990s; he was arrested for drunk driving in 1991[198] and checked himself into rehab in 1994.[13][198] In subsequent interviews, he acknowledged his problems with alcohol and called himself a recovering alcoholic in a 2001 interview with Charlie Rose.[199] He now lives a teetotal lifestyle (he has been sober since 1997[200]) and attributes his success in beating his addiction to attending meetings with Alcoholics Anonymous, which he has publicly praised.[201]
Marriages and family
Oldman has been married five times. He wed English actress Lesley Manville in 1987, and their son, Alfie, was born the following year.[8] While on the set of State of Grace, Oldman met American actress Uma Thurman. They began an affair soon after, though Thurman was 12 years younger than Oldman.[202][203] Oldman broke up with Manville in 1989, three months after their son was born, and they divorced a year later.[204] Oldman and Thurman married in 1990 but divorced in 1992, Thurman stating that the marriage was "a mistake."[202]
Manville stated in 2018 that she and Oldman are still "friends", saying, "[H]e's got a new wife, and we all get on... Gary and I are friends."[205] They have two grandchildren, Matilda and Ozzy Oldman, through Alfie.[206]
In 1997, Oldman married American model Donya Fiorentino (sister of actress Linda Fiorentino[207]), with whom he had two sons: Gulliver (born 1997) and Charlie (born 1999).[8] In 2001, Fiorentino filed for divorce, claiming Oldman was abusive and had choked her and hit her face with a telephone receiver.[208][209][210] Oldman was investigated and cleared, receiving sole legal and physical child custody;[211][212] Fiorentino was granted limited, state-supervisedcontact dependent on her passing drug and alcohol tests.[81][212] In 2003, a judge reduced her access to the children after dismissing claims that Oldman had drugged and physically abused them.[213][214] In 2018, Gulliver, whom Fiorentino claimed had witnessed the alleged domestic assault, lamented the "pain and hardship" caused by his mother's "lies" over the years, while specifically condemning the media's "disgusting" perpetuation of the assault allegation.[215]
On 31 December 2008, Oldman married English singer and actress Alexandra Edenborough in Santa Barbara, California.[216] Edenborough filed for divorce on 9 January 2015, citing "irreconcilable differences";[217][218] the divorce was finalised in September 2015.[219] In August 2017, Oldman married writer and art curator Gisele Schmidt in a private ceremony at the home of his manager, Douglas Urbanski.[220] As of 2021, Oldman and Schmidt live in Palm Springs, California.[221]
Sir Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis is an English actor. Often described as one of the greatest actors in the history of cinema, he is the recipient of numerous accolades, including three Academy Awards, four BAFTA Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. In 2014, Day-Lewis received a knighthood for services to drama.
Geoffrey Roy Rush is an Australian actor. Known for often playing eccentric roles on both stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Tony Award, making him the only Australian to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, in addition to three BAFTA Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. Rush is the founding president of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts and was named the 2012 Australian of the Year.
Sid and Nancy is a 1986 British biographical film directed by Alex Cox, co-written with Abbe Wool, and starring Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb. The film portrays the life of Sid Vicious, bassist of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols, and his destructive relationship with girlfriend Nancy Spungen. The film also features supporting performances from David Hayman, Xander Berkeley, and Courtney Love.
Bram Stoker's Dracula is a 1992 American gothic horror film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and written by James V. Hart, based on the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. The film stars Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, and Keanu Reeves, with Richard E. Grant, Cary Elwes, Billy Campbell, Sadie Frost, and Tom Waits in supporting roles. Set in 19th-century England and Romania, it follows the eponymous vampire (Oldman), who falls in love with Mina Murray (Ryder), the fiancée of his solicitor Jonathan Harker (Reeves). When Dracula begins terrorizing Mina's friends, Professor Abraham Van Helsing (Hopkins), an expert in vampirism, is summoned to bring an end to his reign of terror. Its closing credits theme "Love Song for a Vampire", was written and performed by Annie Lennox.
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Jeremy Lee Renner is an American actor. He began his career by appearing in independent films such as Dahmer (2002) and Neo Ned (2005), then supporting roles in bigger films, such as S.W.A.T. (2003) and 28 Weeks Later (2007). Renner gained Academy Award nominations for Best Actor for his performance as a soldier in The Hurt Locker (2009) and for Best Supporting Actor for playing a hot-headed robber in The Town (2010).
Michael Corbett Shannon is an American actor. Shannon received two Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nominations, for Revolutionary Road (2008), and Nocturnal Animals (2016). He received Screen Actors Guild Award and Golden Globe Award nominations for his role in 99 Homes (2014).
Lesley Ann Manville is an English actress known for her frequent collaborations with Mike Leigh, appearing in the films Grown-Ups (1980), High Hopes (1988), Secrets & Lies (1996), Topsy-Turvy (1999), All or Nothing (2002), Vera Drake (2004), Another Year (2010), and Mr. Turner (2014). She has been nominated for two British Academy Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in Another Year (2010) and Phantom Thread (2017), with her performance in the latter earning her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Lee Grinner Pace is an American actor. He starred as Thranduil the Elvenking in The Hobbit trilogy and as Joe MacMillan in the period drama television series Halt and Catch Fire. He has also appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Ronan the Accuser, a role he first played in Guardians of the Galaxy and reprised in Captain Marvel. Pace earned a 2008 Emmy nomination for his portrayal of Ned in the comedy-drama Pushing Daisies. Since 2021, he has starred as the galactic emperor Brother Day in the Foundation television series, based on the stories of Isaac Asimov.
Douglas Urbanski is an American film producer and occasional film actor. He is a twice Oscar-nominated, Golden Globe Nominated and BAFTA-winning motion picture producer.
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English actor and filmmaker Gary Oldman made his film debut in the 1982 British ensemble drama Remembrance. He rose to prominence in British film with his portrayals of Sid Vicious in Sid and Nancy (1986), Joe Orton in Prick Up Your Ears (1987) and Rosencrantz in Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1990), while also gaining attention as the leader of a gang of football hooligans in the made-for-television drama film The Firm (1989). Regarded as a member of the "Brit Pack", he is also known for portraying a New York gangster in the American neo-noir crime film State of Grace (1990), Lee Harvey Oswald in JFK (1991) and Count Dracula in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992).
Darkest Hour is a 2017 British biographical war drama film directed by Joe Wright and written by Anthony McCarten. It stars Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill, in his early days as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War and the May 1940 war cabinet crisis. The cast also includes Kristin Scott Thomas as Clementine Churchill, Lily James as Elizabeth Layton, Stephen Dillane as Viscount Halifax, Ronald Pickup as Neville Chamberlain, and Ben Mendelsohn as King George VI. The title of the film refers to a phrase describing the early days of the war, widely attributed to Churchill.
Kazu Hiro is a Japanese-born American special make-up effects artist and visual artist. He won the Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling for the biographical films Darkest Hour (2017) and Bombshell (2019) after earning nominations for the comedies Click (2006) and Norbit (2007).
1 2 3 4 5 6 Craig McLean (28 June 2007). "More Mr Nice Guy". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2009.
↑ Dworkin, Susan (8 November 1992). "A Vicious Undertaking". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 5 April 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
↑ Lawrence, Will (August 2007). "In Conversation with Gary Oldman". Empire. p.130.
↑ Nesselson, Lisa (24 September 2003). "Tiptoes review". Archived from the original on 16 May 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2011.Variety. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
↑ Morris, Clint (30 November 2007). "Gary Oldman joins A Christmas Carol". Archived from the original on 13 December 2007. Retrieved 4 December 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). Moviehole.net
↑ "The bfi 100: Nil By Mouth (1997)". Archived from the original on 15 February 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). bfi.org. Retrieved 31 January 2012
↑ Grant, Kieran (12 July 2011). "Smiley Face: Gary Oldman". Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) Culturedeluxe.
↑ Cochrane, Kira (23 August 2007) "The dark world of lads' mags". Archived from the original on 13 October 2007. Retrieved 27 May 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). New Statesman.
↑ "Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Zendaya, Suranne Jones, Gary Oldman, Leading Ladies". The Graham Norton Show. Series 22. Episode 13. 31 December 2017. BBC One. British Broadcasting Corporation. You are one of the greatest actors to have ever lived, you are one of my inspirations.
1 2 Graham, Jane (3 February 2014). "Gary Oldman interview". The Big Issue. Archived from the original on 10 March 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
↑ Picture, Bill (30 July 2003). "Father knows best". San Francisco Examiner: 2. Donya alleges that a drunken Gary hit 4-year-old Charlie recently and burned him with a cigarette. But the judge saw through her bogus accusations.
↑ Pearson, Ryan (10 November 2017). Written at Los Angeles. "Gary Oldman marries for fifth time". Associated Press. New York City. Archived from the original on 17 April 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
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