Gary Leonard Oldman (born 21 March 1958) is an English
actor and
filmmaker. Well-known to audiences for his portrayals of dark and morally corrupt characters,
he came to prominence in roles such as
Sid Vicious in
Sid and Nancy, Jackie Flannery in
State of Grace and
Lee Harvey Oswald in
JFK, which led to his most successful, and arguably best known, leading role as
Count Dracula in the
1992 blockbuster
Dracula. Following the success of
Dracula, he was cast as the
villain of a number of popular films, including
True Romance,
Léon,
Murder in the First,
Air Force One,
The Fifth Element,
The Contender and
The Book of Eli, frequently in starring roles. He is also known for his portrayals of real-life figures: as well as Vicious and Oswald, he portrayed
Joe Orton in
Prick Up Your Ears,
Ludwig Van Beethoven in
Immortal Beloved and
Pontius Pilate in
Jesus. In recent years he is recognisable as
Sirius Black in the
Harry Potter film series and
James Gordon in
Christopher Nolan's
reboot of the
Batman film series.
Oldman has received acclaim for his diverse on-screen performances,
being described as an "actor's actor".
[ He has also been cited as an influence by a number of successful actors.][See Popularity and influence.] In addition to leading and central supporting roles in big-budget Hollywood films, Oldman has frequently acted in independent films, as well as having appeared on television shows such as Fallen Angels and Friends. He also directed, wrote and co-produced Nil by Mouth, a film partially based on his own childhood,[Nil by Mouth (1997) - News] and served as a producer on The Contender, Plunkett & Macleane and Nobody's Baby. Described by The Guardian as "arguably the best actor never Oscar-nominated,"
