Gary Oldman

Gary Leonard Oldman, born on March 21,1958, is an English actor and filmmaker.

Oldman gained fame with his portrayals of Sid Vicious in "Sid and Nancy" (1986) and gay playwright Joe Orton in "Prick Up Your Ears" (1987); on the basis of those performances, film critic Roger Ebert hailed him as "the best young British actor around". He subsequently portrayed a football hooligan in "The Firm" (1989), an Irish American gangster in "State of Grace" (1990), Presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald in "JFK" (1991) and the title character of "Dracula" (1992), becoming a popular casting choice in villain roles; he played the antagonist of films such as "True Romance" (1993), "Léon" (1994), "The Fifth Element" (1997) and "The Contender" (2000). In recent years Oldman has been known for his portrayals of Sirius Black in the Harry Potter film series, James Gordon in Christopher Nolan's Batman film trilogy, and George Smiley in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" (2011). In addition to his film career, he has starred in several United States television shows, including "Knots Landing" and "Friends".

Among other awards and nominations, Oldman is a Saturn Award-winning; Academy, Emmy, Screen Actors Guild, double BAFTA and double Independent Spirit Award-nominated actor. He has been cited as an influence by a number of successful actors; Norman Stansfield, his overstated antagonist in "Léon", has been named as one of the best villains of modern cinema. Aside from acting, he is a double BAFTA Award-wining and Palme d'Or-nominated filmmaker for "Nil By Mouth" (1997), a film partially based on his own childhood. He has served as a producer on several films. In 2011, Oldman was voted an "Icon of Film" by "Empire" readers, in recognition of his contributions to cinema.