Gary Oldman is best known for his roles in Harry Potter and Christopher Nolan’s Batman films. In a recent television appearance, the actor explained why he is very grateful to both films.
Who is the person you are talking about? Gary Oldman is an actor who can move fluently between arthouse cinema and Hollywood blockbusters. He has been appearing in a wide variety of films since the early 80s, including “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”, “Leon – The Professional” and “The Fifth Element”.
He won the Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in the film “The Darkest Hour.” Oldman is best remembered by a wide audience as Sirius Black in Harry Potter and Jim Gordon in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy.
The actor owes a lot to these two film series, especially in his private life. He recently told an American talk show what it was all about.
By the way, Gary Oldman was back in Christopher Nolan’s latest film:
Oppenheimer – New Trailer
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A lot of money for little work, but time with the children
Why is Oldman grateful for these films? As a guest on Drew Barrymore’s show, the actor talked about the stressful everyday life of his job. Part of this would be to work abroad for longer periods of time. Countries such as Hungary, the Czech Republic and Australia in particular have become increasingly popular as filming locations in the last twenty years. The reasons for this would be tax advantages.
Anyone who has always wanted to attend the banquet in the great hall of Hogwarts should think again.
In the mid-early 2000s, Gary Oldman was a single father. It would have hurt him to be away from his sons for a long time. When the role offer for Sirius Black came through, Oldman saw it as an opportunity.
“I thank God for Harry Potter,” he expressed his thoughts on the talk show. He was able to become part of one of the most popular franchises in the world. He was paid well for comparatively little time investment.
It was similar with his role as police chief Jim Gordon in director Christopher Nolan’s Batman films. Large parts of the first film, Batman Begins, were shot in London. The actor was living in Los Angeles at the time. If he had been in Britain for the entire filming period, it would have made raising his own children impossible.
However, Christoph Nolan maintained a strict schedule, allowing Gary Oldman to fly back and forth between LA and London. Apart from that, the director has his own unique methods on set.
Gary Oldman told Drew Barrymore:
I flew home for three days. Then back for two days. Then back home for the weekend. Then I went back to set and so on…
Source: The Drew Barrymore Show
All in all, he commuted between his home and the filming location 27 times. The only alternative would have been to have the sons raised by a nanny. Today, Oldman really appreciates that things turned out differently.
Another Harry Potter actor now has an exciting career thanks to Netflix.