Table of Biography
Gary Oldman is an English Movie Actor. Gary Oldman is a veteran actor who was able to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Winston Churchill in the 2017 film Darkest Hour. He even starred as Sid Vicious in Sid and Nancy, Drexl in True Romance, and George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
Early Life and Education
Gary Oldman was born on March 21, 1958, in London, England. He is 65 years old and is under the astrological sign, Aries. He holds British-American nationality and his full name is Gary Leonard Oldman.
His father’s name is Leonard Bertram Oldman and his mother’s name is Kathleen. And, his father was a sailor who also worked as a welder, and also his father was an alcoholic who left the family when Gary was just seven years old.
Likewise, he has one older sister and her name is Laila Morse who is an actress. Also, she was able to perform in Oldman’s directorial debut Nil by Mouth in the year 1997, before taking on her most famous role of Mo Harris in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.
Regarding Gary’s educational background and qualifications, he attended West Greenwich School in Deptford. He also used to play piano as a child.
Moreover, he also was able to study with the Young People’s Theatre in Greenwich during the mid-1970s, while working jobs on assembly lines, as a porter in an operating theatre, selling shoes, and beheading pigs in an abattoir.
He then went on to win a scholarship to attend the Rose Bruford College in Sidcup, south-east London, from which he graduated with a BA in Acting in the year 1979.
Caption: Gary Oldman along with his mother (Source: Twitter)
Career and Professional Life
Gary Oldman was the first in his year to receive professional work after leaving drama school. In the year 1979, he was able to star in Thark, opposite Annette Kerr, at York’s Theatre Royal and subsequent plays included Cabaret, Privates on Parade, and Romeo and Juliet.
He then went on to feature in Dick Whittington and His Cat, Colchester, Glasgow, The Massacre at Paris, Chinchilla, and A Waste of Time. And, in the year 1982, he was able to make his film debut in Colin Gregg’s Remembrance.
Then, the following year, he featured in Meantime, Entertaining Mr. Sloane, and Saved. Likewise, his film, Saved was a breakthrough for Gary.
With the help of this popularity, he went on to receive a role in Bond’s The Pope’s Wedding. And, for this role, he was able to win two of British theatre’s top honors: the Time Out Fringe Award for Best Newcomer, and the Drama Theatre Award for Best Actor.
He also appeared in Rat in the Skull, The Desert Air, Cain and Abel, The Danton Affair, Women Beware, Women, Real Dreams, and all three of Bond’s The War Plays: Red Black and Ignorant, The Tin Can People and Great Peace.
Gary received the role in the 1986 film Sid and Nancy but he twice turned down the role before accepting it. He starred in Prick Up Your Ears, for which he was able to receive a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor.
Moreover, his fabulous performances paved the way for work in Hollywood, garnering acclaim from United States film critic Roger Ebert. He was able to star in Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, State of Grace, Oliver Stone’s JFK, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
More about his career
Gary Oldman also became a popular portrayer of villains in True Romance, Murder in the First, The Fifth Element, and Lost in Space. Also, in 1994’s Léon: The Professional, he was able to play corrupt DEA officer Norman Stansfield, who has since been named by multiple publications as one of the best villains and most corrupt cops in cinema.
Oldman was able to receive a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for his performance in The Contender in the year 2000. He also starred in Hannibal and had to spend six hours per day in the make-up room to achieve the character’s hideously disfigured appearance.
He even received an Emmy Award nomination for two guest appearances in Friends in May 2001. And, following his Friends appearance, he did not appear in any major roles until 2004. Because it was rumored that he was blacklisted in Hollywood during this time, following the controversy that had surrounded the release of The Contender.
After that, he returned to prominence when he landed a starring role in the Harry Potter film series, playing Harry Potter’s godfather Sirius Black. He then went on to appear in Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, A Christmas Carol, and The Unborn.
Caption: Gary acts in scenes from “Harry Potter” (Source: FandomWire)
More Films
Likewise, he was able to voice the role of villain Lord Shen and was nominated for an Annie Award for his performance in Kung Fu Panda 2. He even earned his first Academy Award nomination and a BAFTA Award nomination for his portrayal of British spy George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy in 2011.
He then went on to appear in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Lawless, Paranoia, RoboCop, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Child 44, Man Down, Criminal, The Space Between Us, The Hitman’s Bodyguard, Darkest Hour, Tau, Mary, and The Courier.
During this time, he also won the Academy Award for Best Actor, Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama, Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Actor, Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor, BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and Golden Globe award.
Then, in the year 2020, Oldman starred in David Fincher’s biographical drama black-and-white Netflix movie Mank. After that, he was able to feature in Crisis, The Woman in the Window, The Bayou, Flying Horse, and others.
Other than Acting Career
Gary Oldman directed, produced, and wrote the award-winning Nil by Mouth, a film partially based on his childhood in the year 1997. This film went on to win the BAFTA Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film and also the BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay, the Channel 4 Director’s Award, and an Empire Award.
He also produced The Contender and Donut. Likewise, he is a proficient pianist and sand several tracks on the Sid and Nancy soundtrack. He also was able to trace over Beethoven compositions in 1994’s Immortal Beloved and tutored Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe on bass guitar.
Gary also produced a live performance by former White Stripes member Jack White in conjunction with Vevo and YouTube. He even participated in the creation of The Legend of Spyro games, providing the voice of the Fire Guardian, Ignitus. He also voices Sergeant Viktor Reznov and scientist Daniel Clarke in the Call of Duty games.
Gary Oldman has established a cult following among film fans and is popular for playing the primary antagonist in several popular motion pictures, which has seen him referenced in popular culture.
His acting and he are very much praised and appreciated not only by his fans and critics but also by his co-actors and many other popular personalities.
Relationship Status
Gary Oldman has been married five times. He tied the knot with English actress Lesley Manville in 1987, and their son, Alfie, was born the following year. They split up three months after their son was born.
He then went on to meet an American actress Uma Thurman on the set of State of Grace. They then tied the knot in 1990 but divorced in 1992. And, from the year 1994 to 1996, he was engaged to Italian actress and model Isabella Rossellini, his co-star in Immortal Beloved, but they never wed.
Likewise, from 1997 to 2001, he tied the knot with American model Donya Fiorentino and the couple had two sons together their names are Gulliver and Charlie. In the year 2008, he married English singer and actress Alexandra Edenborough in Santa Barbara, California but filed for divorce in January 2015 and the divorce was finalized in September 2015.
Then, in August 2017, he tied the knot with writer and art curator Gisele Schmidt in a private ceremony at the home of his manager, Douglas Urbanski.
Caption: Gary with his wife, Gisele Schmidt (Source: The Knot News)
Gary Oldman – Body Measurements
Gary Oldman has a height of 5 feet 8 inches his weight is 74 Kg and his other body measurements are 40-32-13 inches. Moreover, Oldman has dark brown hair and light blue eyes.
Social Media
Gary Oldman is pretty active on his social media accounts. He owns his Instagram account under the name “garyoldmanweb” and has 27.2K followers on it. And, his Facebook account has 17K followers and his Twitter account has 18.6K followers until now.
Gary Oldman – Net Worth 2024
According to Celebritynetworth, Gary Oldman has a net worth of $40 million and his main income source has to be his acting career.