Leonard Gary Oldman was born on March 21st, 1958 in Newcross, London, as the son of a welder. He won a scholarship to Britain's Rose Bruford Drama College, where he received a BA in Theatre Arts in 1979.
Throughout the early 80s he appeared in number of plays, including "The Pope's Wedding", for which he recieved awards like Time Out's Fringe Award for Best Newcomer. His debut film was in 1986 as Sid Vicious in the film "Sid and Nancy", two years after his father had died of alcoholism. Following this were films like "Prick up your ears", Tom Stoppard's Shakespeare adaption "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead" and Francis Ford Coppola's "Bram Stoker's Dracula".
In the early 90s he was heavily dependent on alcohol and in 1991 he and friend Kiefer Sutherland were arrested for drunk driving in LA, but he has now been alcohol abstinent for years.
His ability to transform himself physically and his command of accents has allowed him to play a broad range of characters and a number of historical figures, including Lee Harvey Oswald and Ludwig van Beethoven.
Gary has three children, Alfie born in 1988, Gulliver Flynn (20th August 1997) and Charlie John (11th February 1999). He was married three times and is now dating Ailsa Marshall.
Trivia:
~ Considered a career in music
~ Has used a different speaking voice (i.e. accent) in almost every movie
~ He and Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew) have both played the character of Rosencrantz. Spall – Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet (1996), Oldman – Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead
~ Nil by Mouth (1997) is loosely based on his own life
~ Oldman and Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort) have played villains in the Hannibal Lecter series
~ Has recently moved away from the “villain” character and now prefers more likable characters such as Jim Gordon in Batman Begins and Sirius Black in Harry Potter.
Quotes:
“I’ve done so much R-rated work, it’s nice to have a job you can show your kids.” – on the making of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
“No, only one will die tonight.” – as Sirius Black
“Brilliant, Snape - once again you've put your keen and penetrating mind to the task and as usual come to the wrong conclusion. Now if you'll excuse us, Remus and I have some unfinished business to attend to.” – as Sirius Black
“Why don't you run along and play with your chemistry set?” – as Sirius Black
“It's cruel that I got to spend so much time with James and Lily, and you so little. But know this, the ones who love us never really leave us. And you can always find them; in here.” – as Sirius Black
"The devils are inside the walls." – Sirius Black from GoF
"Some of my best work has been in comedy but it didn’t have the right publicists and producers and distributors, so it goes to DVD and doesn’t get released. People forget Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is funny. Dracula is funny."
"With Beethoven I said I wanted a role where I didn't have to do anything stupid with my hair. My agent said, 'Read it again.'"
"To be able to do this job in the first place you've got to have a bit of an ego."
Recommended Filmography:
1. A Christmas Carol (2009) (filming) (rumored)
2. Unborn (2009) (filming)
3. The Dark Knight (2008) (post-production)
4. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
6. Batman Begins (2005)
7. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
8. Hannibal (2001)
9. Lost in Space (1998)
10. Air Force One (1997)
Biography by
LadyNerd and
siriusly_loving_gary Contact Information
Gary Oldman
c/o ICM
76 Oxford St.
London, W1N OAX
United Kingdom
Source:
Veritaserum 
Oldman, Gary - Sirius Black 
