Gary Oldman Shares Personal Reason He’s Still Thankful for Harry Potter, Dark Knight Roles

These days, it’s becoming more and more common for actors to get candid about why they chose certain roles. Many actors have recently admitted that they took parts for money, especially in blockbusters. This week, Gary Oldman appeared on The Drew Barrymore Show and explained how playing Jim Gordon in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy and Sirius Black in the Harry Potter franchise not only helped him out financially but made it easier to spend time with his kids.

“Thank God for Harry Potter,” Oldman shared. “Thank God for Harry Potter. I tell you, the two — Batman and Harry Potter — really, they saved me, because it meant that I could do the least amount of work for the most amount of money and then be home with the kids.” 

When we did the first Batman… London doubled for Gotham. I did 27 round trips of flying back from LA,” Oldman explained. “I’d fly in for a day. I’d do a shoot a day. To Chris Nolan’s credit.. he stayed on schedule. I would go home for three days. Come back for two. Go home for a weekend. Come back for a day… otherwise, I just felt my kids are being brought up by a nanny.”

In addition to his roles in major franchises, Oldman is known for films such as Mank and The Darkest Hour, which earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor. 

Who Did Gary Oldman Play in Oppenheimer?

Oldman recently reunited with Nolan to make an appearance as Harry Truman in Oppenheimer. The movie was a huge success, becoming the second-highest-grossing Rated R movie of all time and the third-highest-grossing movie of 2023 after Barbie and The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The film was well received by critics and audiences alike, earning a 93% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 91% audience score. 

Oppenheimer stars Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss, Emily Blunt as Kitty Oppenheimer, Matt Damon as Leslie Groves, Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock, Benny Safdie as Edward Teller, Michael Angarano as Robert Serber, Josh Hartnett as Ernest Lawrence, Dylan Arnold as Frank Oppenheimer, David Krumholtz as Isidor Isaac Rabi, Matthew Modine as Vannevar Bush, Josh Peck as Kenneth Bainbridge, Devon Bostick as Seth Neddermeyer, Matthias Schweighöfer as Werner Heisenberg, Christopher Denham as Klaus Fuchs, Guy Burnet as George Eltenton, Danny Deferrari as Enrico Fermi, Emma Dumont as Jackie Oppenheimer, Gustaf Skarsgård as Hans Bethe, Trond Fausa Aurvåg as George Kistiakowsky, and Gary Oldman as Harry S. Truman.

Oppenheimer is now available to rent or buy.