Background - Son of a welder and a homemaker, he was raised in the working class New Cross district of South London.  His first love was the piano and he was strongly encouraged by his mother.  She also was behind him in his early attempts at acting.  He joined the Greenwich Young People's Theatre and appeared in a number of plays.  Taking his acting seriously he won a scholarship to Britain's Rose Bruford Drama College and in 1979 received a BA in Theatre Arts. 

Film Debut - Oldman's first screen role was playing Sid Vicious, the legendary Sex Pistols punk rock singer, in the film portraying his life, "Sid and Nancy".    Oldman not only spent months with the singer's mother to learn all he could of his life, but he lost thirty pounds for the portrayal.  He learned to play a Fender bass, he interviewed heroin addicts to study the physical aspects of the addiction.  He basically, mentally and physically, became Sid Vicious. 

Notable Performances - Oldman, who is a actually a funny, happy guy, seems to play a lot of sinister villains.  Some of his more notable roles have been:  playwright Joe Orton in "Prick Up Your Ears", a psychotic Irish thug in "State of Grace", Count Vlad in "Bram Stoker's Dracula", "JFK" assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, and a zealous terrorist in "Air Force One". 

Triple Threat - One of Gary Oldman's desires was to direct.  In the award -winning "Nil By Mouth", a drama depicting decline of a working class London family overcome by addictions, he not only directed, but was the writer and producer. 

Family - Married to professional photographer Donya Fiorentino in 1997, they have one son.  Oldman had been briefly married to actress Uma Thurman.    

Bio 

Leonard Gary Oldman 
March 21, 1958 
New Cross, South London, England 
Aries 
Height - 5'9"

1998 - Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film - "Nil By Mouth" 
1998 - BAFTA Film Award - Best Screenplay - Original - "Nil By Mouth" 
1997 - Channel 4 Director's Award - Edinburgh International Film Festival - "Nil By Mouth" 
1986 - Evening Standard Film Award - Best Newcomer  
1986 - Time Outs Fringe Award - Best Newcomer of '85-'86 
1985 - The British Theatre Association Drama Magazine Award - Best Actor

1998 - Blockbuster Entertainment Award - Favorite Supporting Actor - Action/Adventure - "Air Force One" 
1998 - MTV Movie Award - Best Fight w/ Harrison Ford - "Air Force One" 
1998 - MTV Movie Award - Best Villain - "Air Force One" 
1997 - Golden Camera - Cannes Film Festival - "Nil By Mouth" 
1997 - Golden Palm - Cannes Film Festival - "Nil By Mouth" 
1988 - British Academy of Film and TV Arts - Best Actor - "Prick Up Your Ears"

1998 - Quest for Camelot . . . Ruber (voice) 
1998 - Lost in Space . . . Dr. Smith/Spider Smith 
1997 - Air Force One . . . Ivan Korshunov 
1997 - The Fifth Element . . . Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg 
1997 - Nil By Mouth . . . (Writer) 
1996 - Basquiat . . . Albert Milo 
1995 - The Scarlet Letter . . . Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale 
1995 - Murder in the First . . . Associate Warden Glenn 
1994 - Leon . . . Norman Stansfield 
1994 - Immortal Beloved . . . Ludwig van Beethoven 
1993 - True Romance . . . Drexl Spivey 
1993 - Romeo Is Bleeding . . . Jack Grimaldi 
1992 - Dracula . . . Dracula 
1991 - Heading Home . . . Ian Tyson 
1991 - JFK . . . Lee Harvey Oswald 
1990 - Chattahoochee . . . Emmett Foley 
1990 - Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead . . . Rosencrantz 
1990 - State of Grace . . . Jackie Glannery 
1989 - Criminal Law . . . Ben Chase 
1988 - Track 29 . . . Martin 
1988 - We Think the World of You . . . Johnny 
1987 - Prick Up Your Ears . . . Joe Orton 
1986 - Sid and Nancy . . . Sid Vicious 
1981 - Remembrance

1993 - Fallen Angels . . . Pat Keiley 
1988 - The Firm . . . Bex Bissek 
1985 - Honest, Decent & True . . . Derek Bates 
1981 - Meantime . . . Coxy

Gary Oldman 
c/o Creative Artists Agency 
9830 Wilshire Boulevard 
Beverly Hills, CA 90212

"The Quest for Camelot" - 15 May 1998 from Warner Brothers.  Voices of Pierce Brosnan, Gabriel Byrne, Andrea Carr, Cary Elwes, John Gielgud, Jersalyn Gilsig, Eric Idle, Gary Oldman, Bronson Pinchot, Don Rickles, Jane Seymour, Bryan White, Jaleel White. 
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Movies Past - Links to the official movie web sites for past movies. 
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