Name: Gary Leonard Oldman
DOB: March 21, 1958
Where: New Cross, London, England
Occupation: Actor, filmmaker, musician
Years Active: 1979-present
-Became better known through movies such as Sid and Nancy, in which he played Sid Vicious, the late lead singer of 80s era British punk band The Sex Pistols in 1986
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| Playing Lee Harvey Oswald in JFK |
Dracula
-In various movies, he has played the antagonist or bad guy. These movies include True Romance(1993), Leon(1994, or better known as The Professional), The Fifth Element(1997), Air Force One(1997, where he played a Russian mercenary), The Contender(2000)
Air Force One
Leon(The Professional)
-He has also played historical figures, such as Ludwig van Beethoven in Immortal Beloved(1994)
-Most recently, he has become best known for playing the role of escaped criminal Sirius Black in the Harry Potter series of movies, and in the movies, it reveals that Sirius Black is Harry's godfather. And also he plays Commissioner Gordon in the Batman movies.
Batman series
Harry Potter
-Most recently, he has starred in the British spy thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, playing George Smiley, a British intelligence officer with M16, or the British counterpart of the American CIA.
-Son of Kathleen(nee Cheriton), a housewife, and Leonard Bertram Oldman, a former sailor who worked as a welder.
-Has a sister who is also an actress, Laila Morse. Oldman has often said his father was an abusive alcoholic who left the family when he was 7.
-Was an accomplished singer and piano player as a kid, but gave it up to pursue acting
Career
-In 1986, he won the chance to play Sid Vicious, the ill-fated bassist for late 70s British punk band The Sex Pistols in the movie Sid and Nancy. In the movie he played the title role of Sid, which told the life of him and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen.
-By the early 1990s, Oldman and other British actors were becoming well known in Hollywood, along with other actors such as Tim Roth, Bruce Payne, Colin Firth, Paul McGann, who were dubbed "The Brit Pack".
-In 1991, Oldman started a significant point in his career. He was to play Lee Harvey Oswald, the killer of JFK in Oliver Stone's JFK.
-The following year, he was asked to play the title role in Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula.
-Later on, he went on to play other roles; violent pimp Drexel Spivey in True Romance(1993), a sadistic prison warden in Murder in the First(1995), a futuristic business tyrant in The Fifth Element(1997)
-In 1994, he played corrupt DEA agent Norman Stansfield in Leon, which is better known as The Professional.
-In 1997, he starred in Air Force One, playing a Russian mercenary named Ivan Korshunov. He also played another historical figure, Pontius Pilate in Jesus(1999).
-In the 2003 movie Tiptoes, he played a character who suffered from dwarfism, which some said did very poorly at the theatres. This movie, in my opinion, was very good. Don't listen to critics!!!
-In 2004, he returned to prominence, playing a role in the Harry Potter movies. He was to play Harry's godfather, Sirius Black, who also, coincidentally, was an escaped criminal from the magical prison Azkaban. Him and star Daniel Radcliffe became very close during the making of the movie. Also in the movie Kung Fu Panda 2, he voiced the character Lord Shen.
-Most recently, he starred in the British spy thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, where he played George Smiley, who was an M16 officer working for British intelligence.
-Also, Daniel Radcliffe looks up to Oldman as an inspiration for acting
Personal Life
-Born and raised in England most of his life, moved to the US in the 1990s
-Keeps his personal life intensely private
-On Dec. 31, 2008, he married singer Alexandra Edenborough in Santa Barbara, California, in a private, formal ceremony.
Filmography
