Gary Oldman

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gary Oldman

Birth name Leonard Gary Oldman
Born March 21, 1958 (age 48)
New Cross, London, England
Spouse(s) Lesley Manville (1988-1990)
Uma Thurman (1990-1992)
Donya Fiorentino (1997-2001)

Gary Oldman (born March 21, 1958) is an English actor, born Leonard Gary Oldman in New Cross, London, England.

After being rejected for admission into Britain's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he won a scholarship to the Rose Bruford College, where he received a BA in Drama in 1979. He later studied with the Greenwich Young People's Theatre and went on to appear in a number of stage plays 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 of 1985.

Oldman first appeared on screen in the film Remembrance in 1982, going on to win his first starring role in Sid and Nancy (1986), in which he played the Sex Pistols' ill-fated bassist Sid Vicious. He has become known for playing eccentrics and for his mastery of accents. He has played a variety of famous characters including Dracula, Ludwig van Beethoven, Lee Harvey Oswald, Commissioner Gordon, Dr. Zachary Smith, Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz, Sirius Black, Pontius Pilate, and the Devil. In the film Tiptoes, Oldman played a Little Person, Matthew McConaughey's twin brother. He has played many villains, including a pimp (True Romance), a disfigured paedophile (Hannibal), a futuristic megacorp tyrant (The Fifth Element), a corrupt DEA officer (Léon), a sadistic prison warden (Murder in the First), a Russian terrorist (Air Force One), and a violent football hooligan (The Firm.)

In 1997, he directed, produced, and wrote Nil by Mouth, partially based on his life, which went on to win the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film, a BAFTA Award (shared with Douglas Urbanski) and also the British Academy Award for Best Screenplay, the Channel 4 Director's Award, and the Empire Award, and was declared by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts as one of the one hundred best films of all time. Recently Nil By Mouth was listed by Time Out as number two of the top fifty best British films ever.

Oldman has been married three times: to Lesley Manville (1988 - 1990), Uma Thurman (1990 - 1992), and Donya Fiorentino (1997 - 2001). He also has three sons, Alfred (b. 1988) by Manville, and Gulliver Flynn (b. 1997) and Charlie John (b. 1999) by Fiorentino. He was granted sole legal and physical custody of his sons with Fiorentino.

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. Gary Oldman has currently finished his latest screenplay, Chang & Eng, based on the novel by Darin Strauss, which SE8 Group will produce.

In September 2006 Nokia Nseries Studio released the Oldman directed short "Donut" (MPEG-4, 320x240 pixel, 23 MB) with music by Tor Hyams. The film was shot with an N93 in order to promote the phone.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Trivia

  • The only other actor since Lon Chaney Sr. to be named "Man of a Thousand Faces" owing to his ability to become whatever character he plays.
  • He was offered and accepted the part of General Grievous in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, but backed out after learning the film was to be made outside of the Screen Actor's Guild.
  • His sister is EastEnders actress Laila Morse.
  • Oldman's portrayal of Norman Stansfield in Léon is generally regarded as one of the best villains in movie history, ranking 43rd on the Online Film Critics Society's list of the Greatest Screen Villains Of All Time. [1]
  • In 2001, he guest starred in Friends as an actor who played a role alongside Joey Tribianni (Matt LeBlanc). The character became drunk during filming, and nearly made Joey late for Monica and Chandler's wedding.
  • He has played the Devil in both the Guns N' Roses music video for "Since I Don't Have You" as well as the BMW short film The Hire: Beat The Devil.
  • He is the "leading man" in a commercial for a Nokia mobile phone.
  • Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead was released on DVD the day after his 47th birthday.
  • Oldman appears in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire with Ralph Fiennes. Both of them have played villains in Hannibal Lecter films. Oldman played Mason Verger in Hannibal, and Fiennes played Francis Dolarhyde in Red Dragon.
  • Oldman's almost unrecognizable performance in Tony Scott's True Romance was based on a fellow actor friend named Willi One Blood - coincidentally, both of them acted together the next year in Léon.
  • In February 2006, an angry reaction from Harry Potter fans arose, due to rumours that Oldman might not play Sirius Black in the new Harry Potter film. The basis for these rumours is the lack of any information about his involvement and his agents stating that they had heard nothing. Things finally settled down when Douglas Urbanski confirmed in an interview on March 21 that an agreement had been reached.
  • The nickname "Crazy Gary Oldman" is believed to have originated in a 2004 parody of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban on the Livejournal site Movies in 15 Minutes, where Oldman's character Sirius Black is on a wanted poster, screaming: "I'M SO CRAZY! LOOK AT ME! I'M CRAZY GARY OLDMAN!". Since that, this gag has been repeated in several parodies, and the name obviously caught on. Although the name is popular among fond fans, Oldman himself is not very happy at being called "crazy". Other nicknames include "The Lord of the Accents" and "The Chameleon".
  • He is one of the voice talents in the forthcoming latest instalment of the Spyro series, The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning alongside Elijah Wood and David Spade
  • He has played two facially disfigured sexual criminals, Drexel in True Romance and Mason Verger in Hannibal.
  • Despite a number of critically acclaimed roles, he has never been nominated for an Academy Award.
  • In one episode of The Simpsons titled "I Am Furious Yellow," Bart asks Homer his opinion about being portrayed by John Goodman in the "Angry Dad" movie. Homer strangles Bart for this, saying, "Its... too... obvious! It... should... be... Gary... OLDMAN!"
  • Notably, the biggest award Oldman ever received was the British Academy Award for Best Screenplay for Nil By Mouth.
  • Oldman is also a musician. He taught fellow Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe how to play bass guitar during the third Potter film. Oldman himself plays both electric and bass.

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../g/a/r/Gary_Oldman_e9ba.html"