Comprehensive information and links about Gary Oldman

Gary Oldman in London, England.

He won a scholarship to the Rose Bruford Drama College, where he received a BA in Drama in 1979. He later studied with the Greenwich Young People's Theatre and went on to appear in a number of stage plays including , 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 (1986), in which he played the rocker Sid Vicious. He has become known for playing eccentrics and for his mastery of accents. He has played a variety of characters including Dracula, Ludwig van Beethoven, Lee Harvey Oswald, Pontius Pilate, and the Devil.

In 1997 he directed, produced, and wrote , partially based on his life, which went on to win the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film, a BAFTA Award, 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 despite containing the word "fuck" 401 times, a record that stood until the 2005 release of .

Because of his convincing acting skills, he has earned various nicknames among his many devoted fans. Among few, there are names such as "The Lord of the Accents" because of his mastery of accents and dialects, which is considered like some sort of trademark. "The Chameleon" is also a popular nickname, since Oldman has starred in many movies and is so unique in his way of truly becoming the character he acts, he has fooled many to think that he is a different person. He has earned the name "Crazy Gary Oldman" as well, because of his charming capacity to act border-line psychotics. Among Harry Potter fans, he is commonly known as "Snuffles".

Oldman has been married three times, to Lesley Manville (1987 - 1990), Uma Thurman (1990 - 1992), and Donya Fiorentino (1997 - 2001).

The only other actor since Lon Chaney Sr. to be named "Man of a Thousand Faces" due to his ability to become whatever character he plays.Auditioned for the voice of General Grievous in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, and was rumoured to have won the part when his publicist jumped the gun. In reality he was never offered the part and to save face his publicist claimed that he had backed out after learning the film was to be made outside of the Screen Actor's Guild.Oldman's portrayal of Norman Stansfield in Léon is generally regararded as one of the best villains in movie history, ranking 43rd on the Online Film Critics Society's list of the Greatest Screen Villains Of All Time. [1]Starred in the Guns N' Roses music video of 'Since I Don't Have You' as the Devil (sometimes called 'Misery'). with Ralph Fiennes. Both of them have played villains in Hannibal Lecter films. Oldman played Mason Verger in In February 2006, an angry reaction from Harry Potter fans arose, due to rumours that Oldman or his character, Sirius Black may not feature in the new Harry Potter film. The basis for these rumours is the lack of any information about his involvement and his agent stating that they had heard nothing. Rumours were debunked by Warner Brothers. [2]