On the 64th birthday of Gary Oldman, let’s take a look back at some of his prominent and nuanced roles in cinema.
Meantime
The release of Meantime (1983) reinstated the career of filmmaker Mike Leigh and helped to kickstart the career of Tim Roth and Gary Oldman. It was a story of two brothers who were trying to make their living while staying with unemployed parents, in 1980s East-end London. Oldman features as Coxy, a raw impulsive, baldie; friend of the brothers who instigates several issues in Leigh’s trudging social drama. It was a very novel character for Gary Oldman as it was quite different from his own personality. He truly shaped himself as Coxy, a mentally unstable person and delivered a applauding performance.
Leon: The Professional
Before featuring in Leon, Gary Oldman was quite a breakthrough star and was a talk of the town after appearing in the Quentin Tarantino’s movie “True Romance’ in 1993. Gary Oldman played the character of Norman Stansfield, twisted Drug Enforcement Administration agent, a tainted and unhinged person. This character was widely popular and has been named as one of the greatest villains of cinema, a combo of psychopath with a tad bit of a charm.
Mank
After the final film of the Batman trilogy, Oldman appeared in many movies like “The Hitman’s Bodyguard”, “Darkest Hour,” “Hunter Killer,” “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” to name a few that garnered him with much appreciation and success. He also grabbed the Academy Awards for his performance in “The Darkest Hour.” In “The Darkest Hour,” Oldman had to morph into another look by including a fat suit and facial prosthetics. From “Darkest Hour” to “Dracula” and the “Harry Potter” franchise, Oldman has taken the aid of prosthetics to alter his appearance, but David Fincher‘s “Mank” posed a challenge for him as he was told to go on screen without any makeup. He was skeptical because nowhere looked like Mank but he managed to pull off this iconic character with his brilliant acting skills.