Jump to content

Gary Oldman

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 88.109.139.16 (talk) at 18:38, 4 December 2007. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Gary Oldman
File:Oldman2.jpg
Gary Oldman and Uma Thurman in 1992.
Born
Gary Leonard Oldman
Spouse(s)Lesley Manville (1988-1990)
Uma Thurman (1990-1992)
Donya Fiorentino (1997-2001)
AwardsSaturn Award for Best Actor
1992 Dracula

Gary Leonard Oldman[1] (born March 21, 1958) is an Emmy Award-nominated, Saturn and BAFTA award-winning English-born American[2] film actor, writer and director. He is best known for his performances as the antagonist or offbeat protagonist of many major Hollywood films. Motion pictures featuring Oldman as leading actor or supporting co-star have grossed over $1.8 billion in the United States, and over $4.6 billion worldwide.[3]

Biography

Early life

Oldman was born in New Cross, London, England, the son of Kathleen, an Irish-born homemaker, and Len Oldman, a former sailor who worked as a welder.[4][5] Oldman has said that his father was an abusive alcoholic who left his family when Oldman was seven.[6] Oldman was an accomplished singer and pianist as a child, but gave up music to pursue an acting career.[7] His inspiration was Malcolm McDowell's performance in 1970 movie The Raging Moon.[8] In a 1995 interview with Charlie Rose, Oldman said: "Something about Malcolm [McDowell] just arrested me, and I connected, and I said 'I wanna do that.'"[9] Oldman retained his love for music, however, and can be seen singing and playing piano in the 1988 movie Track 29, and tracing over pre-recorded versions of Beethoven's music in Immortal Beloved.

Theater

Oldman won a scholarship to the Rose Bruford College, where he received a BA in Drama in 1979. He had initially applied for enrollment into Britain's prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, but was refused entry and told to "find something else to do for a living". Often quizzed about it in retrospect, his highly successful career considered, he has stated that "the work speaks for itself." Following his graduation from Rose Bruford College, 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.

Music

Oldman appeared on Reeves Gabrels album The Sacred Squall Of Now, singing with David Bowie.[10]

Film Career

1980's

After graduating from drama school in 1978, Oldman spent eight years in theater. During this time he appeared in several minor television films such as Remembrace (1982) and Morgan's Boy (1984). In 1986 he won his first starring role as the Sex Pistols' ill-fated bassist Sid Vicious in the 1986 motion picture Sid & Nancy. The role launched Oldman's career and paved the way for work in Hollywood. Oldman's performance was highly regarded by many, perhaps most notably ex-Sex Pistols vocalist John Lydon, who despite questioning the authenticity of some parts of the film, called Oldman a "bloody good actor".[11] Oldman's performance was ranked #62 on Premiere Magazine's "100 Greatest Performances of All Time."[12] This led to roles in British films such as Prick Up Your Ears (1987) and The Firm (1988). Oldman's first foray into American cinema came in 1988, when he played a troubled young Boston lawyer opposite Kevin Bacon in Criminal Law.

1990's

In 1991, Oldman stared in what was at that point the most significant role of his career as alleged Presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald in Oliver Stone's JFK. The following year, however, Gary Oldman would become a household name. In arguably the most famous performance of his career, he starred as lovesick Transylvanian vampire Count Dracula in Francis Ford Coppola's romance-horror blockbuster Dracula. By far the most commercially successful film adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel[13], it was a major box office success worldwide, and spawned various merchandise and video games.[14][15] Oldman's performance is regarded by many as a staple of the horror genre, and was recognised by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films as the best male performance of 1992.[16] This led to major roles in films such as True Romance (1993), León (1994), Murder in the First (1995) and The Fifth Element (1997). Oldman also displayed a skill for accents, most notably in his performances as Ludwig Van Beethoven in Immortal Beloved, and Russian terrorist Ivan Korshunov in 1997 blockbuster Air Force One.

2000's

Oldman appeared opposite Jeff Bridges as zealous Republican congressman Sheldon Runyon in The Contender (2000), in which he was also credited as a producer. The following year he starred opposite Anthony Hopkins in Hannibal, as the only surviving victim of Hannibal Lecter. Oldman received an Emmy Award nomination for two guest appearances in Friends in 2001, appearing in the two-part episode "The One with Monica and Chandler's Wedding" as Richard Crosby, a pedantic actor who insists that "true" actors spit on one another when they enunciate, leading to the famous spitting scene between Joey (Matt LeBlanc) and himself. Oldman agreed to appear in the series after meeting Leblanc on the set of Lost in Space in 1998. Oldman later landed a major role in the Harry Potter film series, playing Potter's uncle Sirius Black. Oldman and star Daniel Radcliffe reportedly became very close during the filming of the series.[17] In 2005, Oldman starred as James Gordon in Christopher Nolan's commercialy and critically acclaimed Batman Begins, a role he is set to reprise in the forthcoming sequel The Dark Knight (2008). Oldman will reportedly be appearing in the 2009 version of A Christmas Carol.[18][19][20]

Film-making

In 1997, Oldman directed, produced, and wrote Nil by Mouth, reportedly based on his life. Nil By Mouth 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 50 best British films ever.

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. He was also credited as a producer. Oldman has finished his latest screenplay, Chang & Eng, based on the novel by Darin Strauss, which SE8 Group will produce. In September 2006 Nokia, Nseries Studio[21] released the Oldman directed short Donut with music by Tor Hyams. The film was shot with an N93 in order to promote the phone.

Controversy

In 1991, Oldman was arrested for drunk driving along with friend and fellow actor Kiefer Sutherland[22]. After a string of alcohol-fuelled debacles he checked himself into Marworth treatment facility http://www.marworth.org/ in Waverly Pennsylvania for alcoholism treatment in 1993[23]. In subsequent interviews Oldman acknowledged his problems with alcohol and called himself a "recovering" alcoholic on a 2001 interview with Charlie Rose[24]. In 2001 former wife Donya Fiorentino claimed that Oldman also had a drug habit and subjected her to domestic abuse, a claim which Oldman outright denies[25]. As of 2007, Oldman lives a teetotal lifestyle and attributes his success in beating his addiction to Alcoholics Anonymous, and has since publically praised the organisation[26].

Personal life

Despite numerous lead and supporting roles in major Hollywood productions, Oldman is intensely private with his personal life and is known for his apathetic stance towards celebrity and the ideals of Hollywood[27], once famously stating that "being famous, that's a whole other career. And I haven't got any energy for it."

Oldman has been married three times.

He has three sons: Alfie (b. 1988) from his marriage to Manville, Gulliver Flynn (b. Aug 20, 1997) and Charlie John (b. Feb 1999) from his marriage to Fiorentino.[28]. His sister, Laila Morse, is also an actress, best known as Mo Harris on the BBC's long running series Eastenders.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films
BAFTA Awards
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
  • 1998: Nominated for Favorite Supporting Actor - Action/Adventure -- Air Force One
British Independent Film Awards
  • 1997: Nominated for Best British Director of an Independent Film -- Nil By Mouth
  • 1997: Nominated for Best Original Screenplay by a British Writer of a Produced Independent Film -- Nil By Mouth
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
Cannes Film Festival
DVD Exclusive Awards
  • 2003: Nominated for DVD Exclusive Awards for Best Supporting Actor -- Interstate 60
Edinburgh International Film Festival
Emmy Awards
  • 2001: Nominated for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series -- Friends
Empire Awards
Evening Standard British Film Awards
Independent Spirit Award
London Film Critics Circle Awards
MTV Movie Awards
Golden Raspberry Awards
Screen Actors Guild Awards
  • 2001: Nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role -- The Contender

References

Wikiquote has quotations related to Gary Oldman.
  1. ^ http://www.garyoldman.info.preview7.oxito.com/goportal/htdocs/modules/articles/article.php?id=11
  2. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/144327.stm
  3. ^ http://www.the-numbers.com/people/GOLDM.php
  4. ^ http://www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/biographies/gary_oldman_biog.html
  5. ^ http://www.filmreference.com/film/93/Gary-Oldman.html
  6. ^ http://zakka.dk/euroscreenwriters/interviews/gary_oldman_525.htm
  7. ^ http://www.csh.rit.edu/~halle/oldman/biography.html
  8. ^ http://scifipedia.scifi.com/index.php/Gary_Oldman
  9. ^ http://www.charlierose.com/search?q=gary+oldman&searchTopic=-1&searchFromMonth=MM&searchFromDay=DD&searchFromYear=YY&searchToMonth=MM&searchToDay=DD&searchToYear=YY&searchFilter=gary+oldman&searchType=guest
  10. ^ http://www.buy.com/prod/sacred-squall-of-now/q/loc/109/60194381.html
  11. ^ http://slashback.multiply.com/video/item/9/Sid_Nancy
  12. ^ http://www.listology.com/content_show.cfm/content_id.23334/Movies
  13. ^ http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1992/0BRMS.php
  14. ^ http://www.forbiddenplanet.com/products/1730/Bram_Stoker's_'Dracula'_Action_Figure_Box_Set/Vampire/Action_Figures/Dracula/Product.html
  15. ^ http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/g/game_boy/bram_stokers_dracula/overview.php
  16. ^ http://www.saturnawards.org/past.html#filmactor
  17. ^ http://www.sponkit.com/daniel-radcliffe-received-nude-advice-from-gary-oldman
  18. ^ http://www.moviehole.net/news/20071130_gary_oldman_joins_a_christmas.html
  19. ^ http://www.movieweb.com/news/58/24758.php
  20. ^ http://www.movieweb.com/news/58/24758.php
  21. ^ http://www.nseries.com/nseries/v2/index_studio.html
  22. ^ http://www.nndb.com/people/550/000022484/
  23. ^ http://www.qa.hollywood.com/celebrity/Gary_Oldman/195567#fullBio
  24. ^ http://www.charlierose.com/search?q=gary+oldman&searchTopic=-1&searchFromMonth=MM&searchFromDay=DD&searchFromYear=YY&searchToMonth=MM&searchToDay=DD&searchToYear=YY&searchFilter=gary+oldman&searchType=guest
  25. ^ http://www.cinema.com/news/item/5166/gary-oldman-beats-up-wife.phtml
  26. ^ http://www.bollywoodsargam.com/bollywood_news.php?newsstory=295421776--0-latest-Gary_Oldman_Sells_What_He_Cant_Have_bollywood_news.html
  27. ^ http://blog.washingtonpost.com/celebritology/2007/06/moring_mix_pariss_interview_no.html
  28. ^ http://www.nndb.com/people/550/000022484
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gary_Oldman&oldid=175751696"