Gary Oldman critiqued his performance as Sirius Black in the "Harry Potter" franchise, saying that his portrayal of the beloved character was "mediocre."
The actor, 65, made the confession during an appearance on the latest episode of Josh Horowitz's "Happy Sad Confused" podcast, stating that he could have performed the role "differently" if he had read J.K. Rowling's original books, like his late co-star Alan Rickman, before starring in the films.
"Maybe if I had read the books like Alan, if I had got ahead of the curve, if I had known what's coming, I honestly think I would have played it differently," Oldman said on the podcast, according to People magazine.
Oldman made his debut as Sirius Black in the Harry Potter film series with 2004's "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" and returned for "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." Further, he made a cameo appearance in the series' concluding film, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2."
Speaking with Horowitz, Oldman explained that he typically critiques his performances.
"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," he said. "Because you want to make the next thing better."
Oldman recently opened up about how the "Harry Potter" franchise and Christopher Nolan’s "Dark Knight" trilogy provided him with the opportunity to still work and spend time with his children — Alfie, 35, Charlie John, 24, and Gulliver Flynn, 26 — after becoming a single father in 2000.
"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," Oldman told Drew Barrymore in an interview on her talk show.
"At 42 years old, I woke up divorced and I had custody of these boys and so that, in itself, was ... that was hard because there was a shift in the industry where a lot of productions were being [filmed in] — it was Hungary, Budapest, Prague, Australia, you know, all of these places," he continued, adding that he traveled back and forth 27 times between filming the "Dark Knight" trilogy in London and his home in Los Angeles to be with his children.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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