Gary Oldman

Gary Leonard Oldman is an English actor, writer, director, producer, voice-over artist and occasional musician who has garnered critical acclaim for his chameleonic performances in diverse roles. He is noted for his avoidance of the Hollywood celebrity scene, often being referred to as an "actor's actor".

Oldman came to prominence for his portrayal of ill-fated rocker Sid Vicious in 1986's Sid & Nancy, and has since retained a career as both a lead and supporting actor of many popular motion pictures. His most popular starring roles include Count Dracula in the 1992 blockbuster adaptation of Dracula, futuristic megacorp tyrant Zorg in 1997's The Fifth Element and congressman Sheldon Runyon in The Contender. Oldman was also popular in 90's Hollywood for his portrayals of villainous and morally corrupt characters, starring as the primary antagonist of such films as True Romance, Léon: The Professional and Air Force One. In recent years Oldman has turned his hand to more heroic roles, and is best known to younger film audiences as Sirius Black in the Harry Potter film series and Jim Gordon in Christopher Nolan's Batman film series. Along with Sid Vicious, he has portrayed a number of other real-life historical figures on screen, such as Joe Orton in Prick Up Your Ears, Lee Harvey Oswald in JFK, Ludwig van Beethoven in Immortal Beloved and Pontius Pilate in Jesus. His portrayal of Sid Vicious was listed as one of Premiere Magazine's "100 Greatest Performances of All Time". Oldman is generally regarded as one of film's most diverse actors. He is also an acclaimed filmmaker; in 1997 he directed, produced, and wrote the Palme d'Or-nominated, double BAFTA-winning Nil by Mouth, a movie partially based on his own childhood.