Gary Oldman

Gary Leonard Oldman (born 21 March 1958) is an English screen and stage actor, filmmaker and musician known for his "big" portrayals of often villainous characters. An Oscar nominee, Oldman has been labelled as the greatest actor never to win the award. He has nevertheless received various honours during his career, and gained the reverence of critics, peers and audiences.

Oldman rose to prominence in Britain with his portrayals of Sid Vicious in Sid and Nancy (1986) and Joe Orton in Prick Up Your Ears (1987), as well as that of a football firm leader in The Firm (1989), before going on to achieve international renown as Lee Harvey Oswald in JFK (1991) and Count Dracula in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992). Oldman starred as antagonist Norman Stansfield in Léon: The Professional (1994), as well as the villains of motion pictures such as True Romance (1993), The Fifth Element (1997), Air Force One (1997), and The Contender (2000); he meanwhile gave an acclaimed reading of Ludwig van Beethoven in Immortal Beloved (1994). In the 21st century, Oldman is known for his portrayals of Sirius Black in the Harry Potter series, James Gordon in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), and human leader Dreyfus in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014).

As of 2014, films starring Oldman have grossed over $4 billion in the United States, and over $10.6 billion worldwide. Aside from appearing in movies, he wrote and directed Nil by Mouth (1997), starred in the Friends two-part episode "The One with Monica and Chandler's Wedding" (2001), featured in music videos by artists including David Bowie and Guns N' Roses, and has played voice acting roles such as Viktor Reznov in the Call of Duty video game series and Lord Shen in Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011). A Royal Shakespeare Company and Royal Court Theatre alumnus, Oldman is a multi-award winning stage actor.