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| Birth Name(s) : Leonard Gary Oldman |
Date of Birth: March 21, 1958 |
| Status:
N/A
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Partner:
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| Profession:
Actor |
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Full Gary Oldman Biography
Gary Oldman, the son of a welder and a homemaker, won a scholarship to Britain's Rose Bruford Drama College, where he received a BA in Theatre Arts in 1979. He subsequently studied with the Greenwich Young People's Theatre and went on to appear in a number of plays throughout the early 80s, 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 1985.
His film debut was in the 1986 biopic Sid and Nancy (1986), where he played Sex Pistol Sid Vicious, picking up the Evening Standard Film Award as Best Newcomer. In 1988, he received a Best Actor nomination from the British Academy of Film and TV Arts for his portrayal of 60s play-wright 'Joe Orton' . His ability to transform himself physically and his command of accents has allowed him to play a broad range of characters and a number of historical figures, including, in addition to those above, 'Lee Harvey Oswald' (JFK (1991)) and 'Ludwig Van Beethoven' (Immortal Beloved (1994)). |
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Additional Gary Oldman Biography
Leonard Gary Oldman (born March 21, 1958) is an English actor, writer and director, perhaps best known to film audiences as Count Dracula in Francis Ford Coppola's romance-horror blockbuster Dracula. Oldman initially came to prominence for his portrayal of the Sex Pistols' ill-fated bassist Sid Vicious in Sid & Nancy, and has since garnered critical acclaim for his diversity of roles and mastery of world accents. In recent years Oldman is best known for his roles as disfigured paedophile Mason Verger in Hannibal, Sirius Black in the Harry Potter film series and Commissioner James Gordon in Christopher Nolan's critically and commercially acclaimed Batman Begins. Oldman is also an acclaimed writer and director; his 1997 foray into writing and directing, Nil By Mouth, won the 1997 BAFTA Award for Best British Film.
Oldman was born Leonard Gary Oldman in New Cross, London, England, the son of Kathleen, an Irish-born homemaker, and Len Oldman, a former sailor who worked as a welder. Oldman has said that his father was an abusive alcoholic. His sister, Laila Morse, is also an actress.
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.
Oldman first appeared on screen in the film Remembrance in 1982, going on to win his first starring role in Sid and Nancy (1986), in which he played the Sex Pistols' ill-fated bassist Sid Vicious. As well as Vicious, Oldman has portrayed a number of significant historical figures including composer Ludwig Van Beethoven in Immortal Beloved and Lee Harvey Oswald in JFK.Other notable credits include Joe Orton, James Gordon, Dr. Zachary Smith, Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz, Pontius Pilate, and the Devil. He is known for his portrayals of many memorable Hollywood villains, including the titular character in vampire (Bram Stoker's Dracula), a pimp (True Romance), a disfigured paedophile (Hannibal), a futuristic megacorp tyrant (The Fifth Element), a corrupt DEA officer (Léon), a sadistic prison warden (Murder in the First), a terrorist (Air Force One), a presidential assassin (JFK), and a violent football hooligan (The Firm).
Oldman collected the Saturn Award for Best Actor for his performance in the title role of Dracula, and received an Emmy Award nomination for his guest appearance in a 2001 episode of Friends. In 1997, Oldman wrote and directed Nil By Mouth, which won the 1997 BAFTA Award for Best British Film.
Oldman has received more recent acclaim in his recent films, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), as well as the extremely successful Batman Begins (2005) and the upcoming The Dark Knight (2008).
In 1997, he 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. 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 released the Oldman directed short Donut with music by Tor Hyams. The film was shot with an N93 in order to promote the phone.
Oldman has been married three times.
- Lesley Manville (1988 - 1990)
- Uma Thurman (1990 - 1992)
- Donya Fiorentino (1997 - 2001)
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.
In 1991, Oldman was arrested for drunk driving. In 1994, he checked himself into Marworth treatment facility http://www.marworth.org/ in Waverly Pennsylvania for alcoholism treatment. |
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Gary Oldman Quote(s)
| I don't think Hollywood knows what to do with me. I would imagine that when it comes to romantic comedies, my name would be pretty low down on the list. |
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