A Filmmaker's Guide to the Best Performances: Gary Oldman

Gary Oldman is one of the most versatile actors in English history with many of his roles being completely different to the last. For example: he has played Sid Vicious and Winston Churchill. There you go. From Dracula to George Smiley to Commissioner Gordon to Sirius Black, Oldman is a brilliant actor and his Academy Award was far overdue.

Background

He was born in London in 1958 to a sailor and his wife. He records that his father, Leonard, was abusive because of an alcohol problem. The father left the family when Gary Oldman himself was seven years' old. He attended school until 16 and then left to work in a sports shop. As a child, he was a pianist but gave up his musical dreams to pursue acting after watching Malcolm McDowell's performance in "The Raging Moon".

Growing up in South London meant that Oldman wasn't very rich, actually, he was nowhere near. He supported his local football club, Millwall and found out later that his father represented them slightly after WW2. Oldman would go on to study theatre at the Young People's Theatre in Greenwich in the mid-70s, working odd jobs to pay his way through. He applied to RADA but was rejected and even though they welcomed him the following year, there was still a stigma about being poor in the acting world and they advised him to do something else. He left and went to Rose Bruford College to study acting. He graduated in 1979.

The one thing I always loved about Gary Oldman is that he comes from literally nothing. He is one of the only English Actors to not come from a middle to upper class household, one of the only English Actors who doesn't come from a lot of money and silver spoons in his mouth, he is one of the only English Actors to actually work for his place in the acting world and his parents didn't just make some phone calls. He is an incredibly hard-working man with every bit of his place in movies earned from the very beginning.

Let's take a look at my own personal favourite film roles of Gary Oldman then!

The Best Performances of Gary Oldman

10. Lee Harvey Oswald in "JFK" (1991)

One of my favourite movies of all time is "JFK" (1991) by Oliver Stone. It is a brilliantly clever movie because it's main focus is the Garrison Trial and how the case for it is made by Jim Garrison and his team. Even though most of Oldman's piece is flashbacks and news stories, it is still a stunning performance. Just watch how amazing it really is - you must see it.

9. Mason Verger in "Hannibal" (2001)

I'm really not going to lie when I say that "Hannibal" (2001) is one of my favourite films in the Hannibal Lecter series because of its creativity with the story. He portrays one of the only surviving victims of Hannibal Lecter and seriously, he does a bloody good job of something which would be very difficult and the character possibly had some unresolved trauma. Oldman still did a brilliant job of the character and how it fits into the movie as a whole.

8. Norman in "Leon: The Professional" (1994)

Described as a 'sharply dressed junkie' by many, Norman in this film is a challenging character along the same eccentric lines of Sid Vicious (whom Oldman also played in "Sid and Nancy"). I think this was the perfect opportunity for Oldman to show his incredible range of characters as being something from the storybooks like Dracula to this traumatic experience of a role.

7. Drexl Spivey in "True Romance (1993)

Even though it isn't a massive role and it actually part of an Elvis-induced drug intoxication sequence of a killing spree the main character is apparently on for some reason. The character is still memorable because it is portrayed by Gary Oldman. It is a brilliant role for Gary Oldman because he isn't in the lead, he isn't even really a supporting character. Yet, he still needs to carry this part of the movie and he does it very well.

6. Dracula in "Bram Stoker's Dracula" (1992)

One of the most perfect roles that Gary Oldman has ever played was that of Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula. I think there was something incredibly gothic, incredibly dark and amazingly romantic yet terrifying about his Dracula. It is an opportunity for Oldman to showcase his striking acting skills in practically one of the most iconic and difficult roles in cinema history.

5. Winston Churchill in "Darkest Hour" (2017)

This would be the one Gary Oldman would receive his Academy Award for and it would be well-earned. Throughout his career, Oldman has portrayed a number of difficult characters but not many carry as much weight as Winston Churchill. It is a far cry from Dracula, from Sid Vicious or even from Lee Harvey Oswald and was an excellent opportunity for Oldman to showcase his range by perfecting this character to the point that it was pretty hard to beat at the Oscars.

4. Sirius Black in "The Harry Potter Series" (Appears in films between 2004-2007)

The character of Sirius Black is an eccentric and difficult shoe to fill. The character is often descriptively not all there in the books, meeting him halfway was the fact that he portrayed the character with some means of grounding. Yes the character is eccentric in the sense that he is mad and probably went so, or feigned so, in order to escape Azkaban. Gary Oldman's portrayal of this character was somewhat better than the character was made in the book. The one he portrayed was far more believable and far more human.

3. Rosencrantz in "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" (1990)

This was one of the funniest satirical performances I've ever seen. I have no idea what compelled me to watch this but I thought it was amazing - especially Gary Oldman's performance. It was incredibly satirical and had an element of humour to it. I loved how the film was put together and it has since become one of my favourite comedy films of all time. It is a brilliant film, but you probably want to read Hamlet before watching it because I fear you won't understand the film otherwise.

2. Commissioner James 'Jim' Gordon in "The Dark Knight Trilogy" (2005-2012)

Who can forget Commissioner Gordon? Gordon is the one person who Batman confides in and the one person who isn't corrupted by the constant money laundering going through the city (although in the comics and the 89 film, he is). Gordon is described as being one of the few good men left in Gotham. Even though he isn't corrupted by money laundering, he does seem to be keeping criminal activity a secret for money. However, we overlook that since he looks after Batman without ever asking who he is. He also makes an attempt, however faltering, to find and arrest the Batman. Oldman's portrayal of this is all too perfect and really adds a great finish on to the franchise. I don't think anyone else would've done it justice.

1. George Smiley in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" (2011)

My personal favourite role played by Gary Oldman was when he played the incredible George Smiley. I read all the George Smiley books and was waiting to see this film for an amazingly long time. Oldman as Smiley was so good that I am totally convinced that no other person could've played it as good as him. He is the only person that had that real depth of character, the only person good enough to head "The Circus". It was a really great performance and amongst all his other performances, I find this one really underrated but it is whole-heartedly my favourite. You all need to see it.