Gary Oldman is one of the most talented active veteran actors in Hollywood right now. He’s graced us with countless unforgettable performances — think of his currently ongoing Apple TV+ show Slow Horses or his role of Dreyfus in Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes and Dracula in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. His most iconic role, however, and arguably, (after Commissioner Jim Gordon, of course) is that of Sirius Black in the Harry Potter franchise. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the installment where Sirius Black was first introduced, was a massive tonal shift for the franchise as the characters grew older and the story themes matured.
Although his screen time was limited in the film, Oldman was still able to bring a lot of warmth and vulnerability in his portrayal of the wrongly accused convict, making Sirius an instant fan favorite. In fact, his final scenes in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix were definitely some of the saddest moments in the entire Harry Potter franchise. But did you know that Oldman doesn’t like his portrayal of Sirius Black one bit? Let’s find out why Gary Oldman disliked his acting in the Harry Potter movies.
Gary Oldman Thinks Not Prepping Enough For His Sirius Black Role in the Harry Potter Franchise Affected His Acting
In an interview with the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Oldman talked about some of the previous roles he’d done; when asked about the Harry Potter franchise, he said, “I think my work is mediocre in it. No, I do. Maybe if I had read the books like Alan, if I had got ahead of the curve, if I had known what’s coming, I honestly think I would have played it differently.” The Alan he’s referring to is Alan Rickman, who played Severus Snape in the movies. The films started long before J.K. Rowling had written her final chapters, and Rickman was the only actor in the franchise who’d been told early on how his story would end.
It’s a common challenge for franchise actors, as they often receive scripts without knowing the full arc of their characters, treating each role as a standalone performance. And this was also the case with Oldman. He didn’t know if he’d be returning to the franchise. He was only suddenly brought back to the franchise many weeks after Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix had already begun filming. Perhaps if Oldman had read up on the lore or known how his story continues in the later installments, his approach to Sirius Black would have been different.
Gary Oldman Nitpicks All His Roles
It turns out Oldman’s dislike for his performances extends beyond just Sirius Black. He revealed, “I’d put it all on fire and burn it and do it all again.” Oldman seems to be his own harshest critic. Even for his portrayal of Dracula, a role he went all-in for (to the point of even sleeping in a coffin during filming), he said he’s “not crazy about it.”
Oldman explained his philosophy of acting and self-evaluation, saying, “It’s like anything. If I sat and watched myself in something and said, ‘My god, I’m amazing,’ right, that would be a very sad day because you want to make the next thing better.” Basically, he sees each role as a chance to improve, not a reason to pat himself on the back. And honestly, considering Oldman’s other roles over the last few decades, Sirius Black is nowhere near his best. Just look at how he effortlessly steals every scene in Slow Horses, or how he perfectly embodied Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, a role that also earned him the 2018 Oscar for Best Actor.
Gary Oldman is Still Grateful For Sirius Black
While Oldman hasn’t held back on expressing dissatisfaction with his acting in the Harry Potter franchise, he’s still incredibly grateful for the role. In a heartfelt moment on The Drew Barrymore Show, Oldman reflected on some challenging times in his life. He shared, “At 42 years old, I woke up divorced, and I had custody of (my) boys. That, in itself, was… that was hard because there was a shift in the industry where a lot of productions were being filmed in Hungary, Budapest, Prague, Australia, you know, all of these places. So, I turned down a lot of work.”
Oldman also hasn’t held back from talking about the huge impact of his franchise roles during those tough times. He explained, “Thank God for Harry Potter. I tell you, the two — Batman and Harry Potter — really, they saved me, because it meant that I could do the least amount of work for the most amount of money and then be home with the kids.”
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