Harry Potter Star Reveals Why He Wasn't a Fan of His Acting Work in the Franchise

Gary Oldman is known for an array of projects, including the films Mank and The Darkest Hour, which earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor. Oldman has also appeared in multiple franchises, playing Jim Gordon in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy and Sirius Black in the Harry Potter franchise. Recently, the actor appeared on the Happy Sad Confused podcast and talked about some of his biggest roles. During the interview, Oldman admitted he's not a fan of his work in the Harry Potter films. 

"I think my work is mediocre in it," Oldman shared. "No, I do. Maybe if I had read the books like Alan [Rickman], if I had got ahead of the curve, if I had known what's coming, I honestly think I would have played it differently." He added, "I'll tell you what it is. It's like anything, if I sat and watched myself in something and said, 'My god, I'm amazing,' that would be a very sad day, because you want to make the next thing better."

Gary Oldman Explains Why He's Grateful For Harry Potter:

Oldman may not like his performance as Sirius Black, but he recently appeared on The Drew Barrymore Show and revealed why he is grateful for his roles in franchise films. 

"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."

Who Does Gary Oldman Play in Oppenheimer?

Oldman recently reunited with director Christopher 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.

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