Gary Oldman

Sir Gary Leonard Oldman is an English actor and filmmaker known for his versatility and intense acting style. Born on 21 March 1958, he has achieved major recognition across theatre, television, and film, with his movies grossing over US$11 billion worldwide. Over his career, he has earned an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and three British Academy Film Awards, alongside multiple Primetime Emmy Award nominations. He was made a Knight Bachelor by King Charles III in the 2025 Birthday Honours.

Oldman was born in New Cross, London, to Leonard Bertram Oldman, a former sailor and welder, and Kathleen Cheriton. His father left the family when Oldman was seven years old. His older sister, Maureen, is an actress who performs as Laila Morse. Oldman attended West Greenwich School, leaving at age 16 to work in a sports shop. After seeing Malcolm McDowell in The Raging Moon (1971), he decided to pursue acting. He studied at the Young People's Theatre in Greenwich and worked various jobs before winning a scholarship to Rose Bruford College, graduating with a BA in Acting in 1979.

Oldman began his professional acting career in theatre in 1979, starring in Thark at the York Theatre Royal. He subsequently performed with the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow and toured Europe and South America. His early stage roles included productions of Cabaret, Romeo and Juliet, and Saved. His performance in Saved led to work with the Royal Court Theatre, and he later became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1985 to 1986. His theatrical credits also include Hamlet, Entertaining Mr Sloane, and The Country Wife.

After making his film debut in Remembrance (1982), Oldman rose to prominence in British cinema with portrayals of musician Sid Vicious in Sid and Nancy (1986) and Joe Orton in Prick Up Your Ears (1987). Regarded as part of the "Brit Pack," he expanded into American cinema, playing an American gangster in State of Grace (1990), Lee Harvey Oswald in JFK (1991), and Count Dracula in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992). During the 1990s, he became widely known for villainous roles in films such as True Romance (1993), Léon: The Professional (1994), The Fifth Element (1997), Air Force One (1997), and Lost in Space (1998).

Oldman wrote and directed his debut feature film, Nil by Mouth, in 1997. He took on prominent franchise roles in the 2000s and 2010s, playing Sirius Black in the Harry Potter series (2004–2011) and James Gordon in The Dark Knight trilogy (2005–2012). His other franchise work includes voicing Lord Shen in Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) and portraying Dreyfus in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014).

Oldman won the Academy Award for Best Actor for playing Sir Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour (2017). He was also nominated for Academy Awards for portraying George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) and Herman J. Mankiewicz in Mank (2020). On television, he starred in the BBC film The Firm (1989) and earned an Emmy nomination for a 2001 guest appearance on Friends. Since 2022, he has starred as British spy Jackson Lamb in the Apple TV+ series Slow Horses, earning multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.