English actor known for villains and historical leads, Academy Award winner for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour.
Background
Born Leonard Gary Oldman in New Cross, London, he trained at the Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance and joined the Royal Court Theatre in the early 1980s.
Career
He played Sid Vicious in Alex Cox’s “Sid and Nancy” and Joe Orton in Stephen Frears’s “Prick Up Your Ears,” then a long run of major studio villains in “Leon,” “The Fifth Element,” “Air Force One,” and “Bram Stoker’s Dracula.” He played Sirius Black in the “Harry Potter” series, James Gordon in Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy, and George Smiley in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.”
Style
Oldman is known for unrecognizable physical and vocal transformation across roles and a willingness to alternate between major franchise work and stage-rooted character pieces.