More than ten years after the end of the Harry Potter films, Gary Oldman admits that he is unhappy with his own portrayal of fan favorite Sirius Black.
Gary Oldman made his debut in the wizarding world in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. He went on to play Harry’s godfather Sirius Black in the fourth, fifth and eighth films, who is initially introduced as a threat before maturing into a father-substitute. But while many fans celebrate his portrayal of Sirius, Gary Oldman himself can’t take much credit for his performance in retrospect
Gary Oldman criticizes himself for his Harry Potter performance
From the villain in The Fifth Element to Commissioner Gordon in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy and his Oscar-winning performance as Churchill in The Darkest Hour, Gary Oldman has played many memorable roles. Harry Potter fans will, of course, forever associate him with Sirius Black. In the podcast Happy Sad Confused (minute 15), however, the actor reflected very soberly on his performance there.
(Gary Oldman as Sirius Black in Harry Potter)
I think my work in it is very mediocre. I really do. If I’d read the books like Alan [Rickman as Professor Snape] and known what was coming, I might have been a step ahead. I really think I would have played it differently.
In general, Gary Oldman believes that you should always continue to grow as an actor. And since the last Harry Potter film was twelve years ago, the English character actor should have grown quite a bit by now:
‘If I sat down and looked at myself and then said ‘My God, I’m great’, it would be a very sad day. Because I want to make every next project even better than the previous one.
Saved by Sirius Black: Gary Oldman will always be grateful to Harry Potter
Just a few weeks ago, Gary Oldman looked back on his career on The Drew Barrymore Show and explained that his roles in Batman and Harry Potter had “saved” him: Because as a divorced father in his early 40s, they offered him the opportunity to film in his home country instead of traveling long distances to distant locations. What’s more, “with the least amount of work and for the most money possible.”
(Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) in Harry Potter 3)
His family certainly thanked him for it. Just like the Potterheads and Gary Oldman fan Daniel Radcliffe, who, unlike the star, were very happy with his Sirius portrayal.
If you want to see for yourself whether Oldman is good in the role, you can currently do so on Amazon Prime *. You can also currently see Gary Oldman in the 3rd season of the acclaimed crime series Slow Horses – A Case for Jackson Lamb. In the Harry Potter series, a new actor is sure to take on the role of Sirius Black in a few years’ time.
Did you know? Sirius Black’s tattoos contain a meaning full of suffering
