Gary Oldman



Gary Oldman is a British actor who found fame in roles such as Sid Vicious in 1986 biopic Sid & Nancy and the title character of the 1992 blockbuster Dracula. Often hailed as one of 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 Lee Harvey Oswald. Oldman is known for playing the main villain, particularly hugely obvious villains whom everyone trusts in movies (such as The Professional, Air Force One and The Fifth Element)... except for when he hangs out with Batman or Harry Potter, or when he's Beethoven or Guildenstern. We're pretty sure he was Guildenstern (he was actually Rosencrantz, but who's keeping track). But besides these four, when Oldman isn't the villain, he's just plain crazy (ever seen his guest spot on Friends?). And it's not like Sirius doesn't have his moments. Despite his obvious villain roles, he can play an excellent Magnificent Bastard and makes an equally convincing Complete Monster, though still usually with a patina of dark humour. However as turkeys like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Unborn demonstrate, he also has an unfortunate tendency to do anything for money.

He has directed one film, Nil By Mouth, a deeply grim film about a dysfunctional family (allegedly inspired by his own rough childhood). He also recently directed the love stream of a Jack White concert.

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 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), despite his undeniable talent, and it's pretty clear that he just doesn't care about that sort of thing. - Notable for: "M15M: And in a role so disgusting even Gary Oldman didn't want his name on it..."
 * Harry Potter - Sirius Black
 * The Dark Knight Saga - Commissioner Gordon
 * Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - George Smiley
 * Sid And Nancy - Sid Vicious
 * His first starring role. Even John Lydon, (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."
 * Bram Stoker's Dracula - Count Dracula, an obvious villain whom everyone trusts.
 * True Romance - Drexl Spivey
 * Leon (or) The Professional - Norman Stansfield ("Bring me... everyone", "Whaddaya mean "everyone-", "EEVVVERRYYYYONNNEEEE!"). Despite being a complete manic, Stansfield is a chief inspector, making him another obvious villain whom everyone trusted.
 * The Fifth Element - Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg
 * Air Force One - Ivan Korshunov
 * Immortal Beloved - Ludwig Van Beethoven
 * Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead - Rosencrantz ("Yes?" "... Guildenstern." "Yes?")
 * JFK - Lee Harvey Oswald
 * Friends - Richard Crosby
 * The Contender - Rep. Sheldon Runyon
 * Lost in Space (1998) - Dr. Smith, one of his extremely obvious villain roles (whom everyone trusted).
 * Call of Duty: World at War - Sergeant Reznov
 * Call of Duty Black Ops - Dr. Clarke
 * The Legend of Spyro - Ignitus
 * Kung Fu Panda 2 - Lord Shen, another Magnificent Bastard.
 * Quest for Camelot - Sir Ruber, the other, even more blindingly obvious villain role who was so implicitly trusted he was a knight at the round table.
 * Hannibal - The horribly disfigured Mason Verger (trusted by everyone).
 * He was left uncredited in this role, which led a Movies in 15 Minutes review to speculate:


 * The Book of Eli - Carnegie, yet another Magnificent Bastard / Complete Monster.
 * Red Riding Hood - Father Solomon. Trusted by absolutely nobody. Nah, just kidding, trusted by everyone.
 * Planet 51 - General Grawl