He played a record number of iconic roles and, it seems, embodied all possible male types. But time does not spare anyone – look at how heartthrob and heart stealer Gary Oldman has become now.
A vampire, a sophisticated bandit, an intergalactic criminal, a tragic punk rock idol, an innocently injured wizard – any appearance of Gary Oldman on the silver screen became a sensation! But the last role of the Oscar winner showed him without embellishment. Oldman is now fully consistent with his last name (translated from English, it means “old man”), but his acting skills remain out of competition.
Gary was born on March 21, 1958, in London in a marginal family – his father worked as a welder and drank hard, and his mother, a housewife, was exhausted, raising her son and daughter. When Oldman Jr. went to school, their dad decided that it was time to leave the family, and did not provide any support to either the children or his ex-wife.
At first glance, it is strange that with such starting conditions, Gary went to acting school, and did not drive a truck, but there’s nothing to be done – his vocation led him. The talent of the young Englishman was obvious: Oldman became a sensation in the theatrical environment, where he started, and when he ended up in the cinema, the directors literally tore him apart. Gary’s game was called phenomenal: he managed the most complex and multifaceted characters.
Oldman’s personal life was in full swing: in total, he was officially married 5 times, and it would probably be difficult to name the number of novels himself. Gary has four sons – the youngest, Roberto, he adopted with actress Isabella Rossellini. Women literally fell at the feet of the actor – it was absolutely impossible to resist his natural attractiveness, multiplied by incredible charisma!
Gary Oldman became the first husband of Uma Thurman: the 20-year-old actress met him on the set of the film “Henry and June”, which tells about the complicated personal life of the author of the legendary Tropic of Cancer, writer Henry Miller. Young Uma was completely obsessed with a divorced colleague who, in addition, was 12 years older. “He was my first love,” she honestly admitted, and Gary himself joked about himself as “a little-known actor, the son of a welder, the first husband of Uma Thurman.”
Unfortunately, Oldman still received some inheritance from his father. By the time of his marriage to Uma, he was a complete alcoholic and drank without drying out all two years of their marriage. In the end, Thurman packed her bags. “This should have ended, she is an angel,” the actor lamented.
After the collapse of this marriage, Oldman tried to be treated for alcoholism but did not succeed. The actor managed to cope with addiction only in 1997. Since then, he has not drunk.
Years of excesses and the passage of time have changed the appearance of the once one of the most charming men in Hollywood. In 2017, Oldman won an Oscar for portraying former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour. He appeared as an elderly, overweight man, but this effect was created by plastic make-up.
And now the fans gasped when they saw their favorite actor in his new role: Oldman starred in the spy series Lame Horses. We’ve never seen him like this before!
According to the plot, Gary embodies a rather unpleasant character: he is a dirty, flabby, bad-smelling (which are worth only the scenes in the public release of gases!) The head of the “loser” British intelligence unit. But, as is always the case with Oldman, his hero has a double bottom – he has a razor-sharp mind, unsurpassed instinct, and a peculiar sense of duty.
Of course, this Gary Oldman is quite far from the dark attractiveness of Sid Vicious and Sirius Black, but acting magic is much more complicated than sexy looks and youth. He still enchants with his game – although he has ceased to be handsome.
Editorial Team
