A personality focus of Gary Oldman on Brusimm.com: There are times when a light goes off when watching a particular actor. In most cases it might be someone who has clawed their way to the top and you recognize from one of those moments when they were a teen in a small part from some bygone day.
But when you look at Gary Oldman, one must sometimes dig deep to try to remember him from anything he’s done before. And I say that with the utmost respect for the man, because as far as I can tell, there aren’t that many actors who have portrayed such a rich and colorful expanse of characters through the years as Gary Oldman has.
To me, Gary is the consummate career actor and he’s proven that he’s not afraid to tackle any genre. Because of his diversity, he’s not an actor that you can typecast in your mind. And as time goes on, when I see his name attached to a movie, I stop and consider that movie as something I’m going to watch because he always brings his “A” game.
Right now, if the name of Gary Oldman comes up, you probably think of Commissioner Gordon from The Dark Knight movies from Christopher Nolan. Or maybe the master spy from Tinker Tailor, Soldier Spy. But the man, through the years, has played characters in almost 60 different movies since 1982. And unlike many actors ,who more or less create predictable (but likable) character portrayals, he can be something different every time, so you don’t know what to expect.
The characters he’s played range across the board like borderline psychotics, spies, reluctant secondary heroes or iconic characterizations. It’s quite amazing. Despite what I’ve seen of him, he continues to surprise me. He’s done so many roles and has changed his appearance in such ways that sometimes he’s not recognizable as himself. And unlike many actors who don’t necessarily change as much between roles, Coleman’s various incarnations are always amazing to see.
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What sparked this piece was when I was doing a piece on Bram Stoker and a film history of Dracula, I had forgotten that Gary had played the titular character in the 1992 movie from Francis Ford Coppola. (I actually enjoyed that rendition that stayed true to the source material) And then I started thinking about it.
Doing a quick review of his movie career, you can see he’s been in some incredible movie franchises like Harry Potter & Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight movie trilogy. He’s played such iconic figures as Lee Harvey Oswald, Dracula, Dr. Smith, Bob Cratchit, Elvis & Shen!
Over the years, Gary Oldman’s has been in many movies. Up to the point of this writing, he’s been in 59 movies, with 2 movies going into the can with Paranoia coming out in 2013 and the Robocop remake coming out in 2014.
Here’s a short list of some of his amazing roles:
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| Movie | Character | Year |
| Remembrance | Daniel | 1982 |
| Henry & June | Pop (as Maurice Escargot) | 1990 |
| JFK | Lee Harvey Oswald | 1991 |
| Dracula | Dracula | 1992 |
| True Romance | Drexl Spivey | 1993 |
| Léon: The Professional | Stansfield | 1994 |
| Immortal Beloved | Ludwig van Beethoven | 1994 |
| The Scarlet Letter | Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale | 1995 |
| The Fifth Element | Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg | 1997 |
| Air Force One | Ivan Korshunov | 1997 |
| Lost in Space | Dr. Zachary Smith/Spider Smith | 1998 |
| Hannibal | Mason Verger | 2001 |
| Interstate 60: Episodes of the Road | O.W. Grant | 2002 |
| Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | Sirius Black | 2004 |
| Batman Begins | Jim Gordon | 2005 |
| Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | Sirius Black | 2005 |
| Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | Sirius Black | 2007 |
| The Dark Knight | Gordon | 2008 |
| A Christmas Carol | Bob Cratchit/Marley/Tiny Tim | 2009 |
| The Book of Eli | Carnegie | 2010 |
| Guns, Girls and Gambling | Elvis | 2011 |
| Red Riding Hood | Solomon | 2011 |
| Kung Fu Panda 2 | Shen (voice) | 2011 |
| Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 | Sirius Black | 2011 |
| Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy | George Smiley | 2011 |
| Lawless | Floyd Banner | 2012 |
| The Dark Knight Rises | Commissioner Gordon | 2012 |
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On Amazon: Gary Oldman movies
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Any way, I love most all his roles. His portrayals span deadpan to energetic, crazy to sane, good and evil. I’ve particularly enjoyed the Red Riding Hood movie and the 1992 Dracula movie. Both surprisingly entertaining. I swear, it seems he does not attach himself to flubs. But that’s just my opinion.
What’s your favorite Gary Oldman movie?
[His IMDb profile]
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About Bruce Simmons
I've been writing newsletters since 1999. Of late, I've been focusing on the entertainment consumer angle on mostly the sci-fi, fantasy and action genres of TV, movies and books.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I love all his movies. Like you say, Oldman has so much depth and versatility to his acting. In Fifth Element, he took a cheese, corny character and made him certifiably insane in a creepy, believable manner. Absolute classic.