HARRY POTTER Star Gary Oldman Explains Previous Comments About His "Mediocre" Sirius Black Performance

HARRY POTTER Star Gary Oldman Explains Previous Comments About His "Mediocre" Sirius Black Performance

The Dark Knight star Gary Oldman has clarified his comments from a December 2023 interview which saw him describe his performance as Sirius Black in Harry Potter as "mediocre." Read on for details...

By JoshWilding - May 22, 2024 03:05 PM EST
Filed Under: Harry Potter
Source: SFFGazette.com

Last December, Gary Oldman surprised Harry Potter fans when he revealed how dissatisfied he is with one of his most famous performances: Sirius Black.

The Dark Knight Trilogy star first played the beloved J.K. Rowling creation in 2004's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, delivering a madcap performance before reprising the role (and somewhat dialling it back) in the next two movies. Eventually, Oldman bid farewell to the character when Sirius died in battle during Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Describing his work in the franchise as "mediocre," the screen icon said at the time, "Maybe if I had read the books like Alan [Rickman], 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's comments generated a great deal of discussion among fans, with many quick to argue that his performance was anything but "mediocre." 

Asked to elaborate on how he views his Harry Potter work during the Cannes press conference for Parthenope earlier today, the actor was quick to say he didn't mean to "disparage anyone out there who are fans of 'Harry Potter' and the films and the character who I think is much beloved."

"What I meant by that is, as any artist or any actor or painter, you are always hypercritical of your own work," he continued. "If you’re not, and you’re satisfied with what you’re doing, that would be death to me. If I watched a performance of myself and thought, 'My God, I’m fantastic in this,' that would be a sad day."

"There was such secrecy that was shrouded around the novels, they were under lock and key. And had I known from the very beginning, if I had read the five books and I had seen the arc of the character, I might have approached it differently. I may have looked at it differently and painted in a different color."

"So when I started 'Harry Potter,' all I had was the book, 'The Prisoner of Azkaban,' and that one representation of that man," Oldman added. "One book in the library of Sirius Black. And that’s kind of what I meant by it. It’s not me looking at the movie and saying it’s a terrible film or I’m terrible, I just wish it had been under different circumstances."

"That’s what I meant, not to be rude to any of the people out there who like that film."

It's hard to find many Wizarding World fans who are unhappy with Oldman's approach to Sirius, though there were some differences from the books, particularly in Prisoner of Azkaban. Filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón took a unique approach to the material, with the subsequent movies taking fewer risks with the franchise.

The change proved jarring and the actor appears to be suggesting that, had he known what was to come for Sirius, his approach to the character would have differed from the start. "Mediocre" still seems far too harsh of an assessment! 

Check out Oldman's comments in full below (via SFFGazette.com).

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SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 5/22/2024, 3:44 PM
Been a fan of Gary Oldman since The Professional. The guy is gold.
Malatrova15
Malatrova15 - 5/22/2024, 3:46 PM
@SonOfAGif - otherwise he'l be Gary Youngman, the strong silent type
Malatrova15
Malatrova15 - 5/22/2024, 3:45 PM
ok but how many genders are recognized at hogwarts?
Deadinside
Deadinside - 5/22/2024, 4:25 PM
@Malatrova15 - Hogwarts is like the Heinz of Wizarding schools...57 varieties...!☮️😁
Malatrova15
Malatrova15 - 5/22/2024, 4:52 PM
@Deadinside - ok budi thats enough
CaptainFlapjaks
CaptainFlapjaks - 5/22/2024, 5:34 PM
@Malatrova15 - 5:
Gryffindor, hufflepuff, ravenclaw, slytherin, and deatheater.
Mrtoke
Mrtoke - 5/22/2024, 8:17 PM
@Malatrova15 - you've been outdone
IAmAHoot
IAmAHoot - 5/22/2024, 3:56 PM
That he had to explain himself is ridiculous. From an acting standpoint, that role and especially that sort of production just doesn't give him the proper heft to work with.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 5/22/2024, 4:03 PM
@IAmAHoot - I don’t think it’s even that necessarily

Seems more like if he knew the arc of the character like Alan Rickman that he could have added more nuances and such rather then playing it film to film.

He just felt like it could have been an even stronger performance in his eyes, not that the material he was given wasn’t weighty enough.
IAmAHoot
IAmAHoot - 5/22/2024, 5:24 PM
@TheVisionary25 - Rickman wanted to leave the role though, but decided to stick around. And with everything going on in the movies, Oldman’s role was never going to require as much effort as he’d like to sink his teeth into.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 5/22/2024, 5:27 PM
@IAmAHoot - the reason he wanted to leave was because he felt he wasn’t doing much then being an antagonist until just kidding told him his full character arc hence he stayed

However you are right in that Sirius doesn’t have that kind of same meat to him eventually so there’s not much there to play with , atleast as opposed to what we got on screen versus the books.
BIGBMH
BIGBMH - 5/22/2024, 5:35 PM
@IAmAHoot - "Oldman’s role was never going to require as much effort as he’d like to sink his teeth into"

While the role may not be the kind that excites him or makes him the most proud, I really think that's a separate thing from what he's talking about here. He seems capable of tempering his evaluation of his work to the scope of the role. Even within the limitations of it, he's critical of the work he did (as he generally is) and feels that he could've made different and better choices with a more informed perspective on the character's arc.
IAmAHoot
IAmAHoot - 5/22/2024, 5:52 PM
@BIGBMH - I’m speaking on his previous comments as well, not just these clarifying ones. (Same applies to his comments about Commissioner Gordon.)
FinnishDude
FinnishDude - 5/22/2024, 4:08 PM
However you feel about Potter movies (personally, none of them hold up as genuily great movies post the hype of Pottermania), while he did solid job and is overall a fantastic actor, I'm not sure anyone can seriously argue that his performance in any of them was some career highlight no other actor couldn't have pulled off.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 5/22/2024, 4:12 PM
@FinnishDude - while I disagree with your assessment of the films since I do think the likes of Prisoner of Azkaban and Deathly Hallows Part 2 are quite good…

I do agree that other actors could have pulled it off but would it still have been as well as Oldman did with the limited material he had?.

That’s the question.
FinnishDude
FinnishDude - 5/22/2024, 4:31 PM
@TheVisionary25 - I just feel that post the first two movies (which IMO were just unimpressive in a more general filmmaking sense), all the Potter movies just feel like abridged versions of the books in a bad way. Too many plot-points and characters only make sense, if you have read the books and have the missing information to fill the holes with. Like, say, the third one (which is easily the best movie of the bunch) makes a big mystery out of the Marauders, but then never explain who they are,leaving the non-book readers confused and the narrative of the film unfinished. And no, this is not a fanboyish "grrr,they left out my favorite parts" thing, I actually think the movies would had been greatly improved by taking more liberties, so they could have filled those missing parts with something else or left out those plot-elements out completely.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 5/22/2024, 4:40 PM
@FinnishDude - hmmm , those are good points especially the Marauders in lPrisoner of Azkaban though I think you can just assume something like the Map is just an object in this world if you aren’t familiar with its signifance in the books (as I did when I watched them before reading the books).

I do think the movies do make sense on their own for the most part atleast but yeah like any adaptation pretty much I do hope certain things were fleshed out more or explained better

However , the world & characters engross me in it so much that I can forgive faults such as that but that’s just me.
BIGBMH
BIGBMH - 5/22/2024, 5:45 PM
@FinnishDude - "while he did solid job and is overall a fantastic actor, I'm not sure anyone can seriously argue that his performance in any of them was some career highlight no other actor couldn't have pulled off."

I don't think anyone is trying to say that about it, but I think there's a wide gap between career-peak work and mediocre. There's something to be said for the inherent talent and screen presence of great actors. Obi-wan Kenobi was probably far from the most challenging role of Alec Guinness's career, but he still brings imbues the role with intangibles that come from talent and charisma. I'd say the same for most of the veteran actors in the Potter series. Even Oldman's self-critical "mediocre" is still good.
dragon316
dragon316 - 5/22/2024, 4:11 PM
Suck killed his character off like him not many characters in movies I can say that about
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 5/22/2024, 4:21 PM
Very well said.

It just goes to show that what Mr Oldman considers “mediocre” is still better then some if not most actors…

I thought he did well as Sirius in the HP films he was in even though he didn’t have much to work with other then being the “cool” uncle & father figure to Harry…

Still , he was able to capture the despair & madness of the character when we first properly see him in Prisoner of Azkaban and then the endearing & caring nature of the character later on aswell (though maybe the turn was a bit too quick I feel).

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bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 5/22/2024, 4:36 PM
If there's source material, I do think the artist should read/watch/listen to it as much as possible. However, it's the script before them that is the story being brought to screen.

Oldman may have played it differently if he based his performance not on the script but the books. I guess he still would've been selfcritical though, but it's a good perspective to have anyway.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 5/22/2024, 4:46 PM
@bkmeijer1 - yep

You could then run into the problem of playing it a certain way that conflicts with how that character’s arc goes in the movie or series

It’s a tricky thing to balance.
RolandD
RolandD - 5/22/2024, 4:37 PM
He always disappears into the character and I am not just talking about the changes in his physical appearance. That’s the mark of a great actor in my humble opinion. By definition
he can do that with a character that doesn’t have seriously dramatic turns.
imnotwearinghockeypants
imnotwearinghockeypants - 5/22/2024, 4:42 PM
Oldman is great but I never liked him for the role.
Polaris
Polaris - 5/22/2024, 4:46 PM
There was no need to clarify.
LSHF
LSHF - 5/23/2024, 2:36 AM
@Polaris - Agree. The misinterpretations were a serious stretch of imagination.
KaioKen
KaioKen - 5/22/2024, 6:20 PM
I kinda agree with him. It wasn’t his best work
ModHaterSLADE
ModHaterSLADE - 5/22/2024, 6:34 PM
The acting range of Oldman is top tier.
BritishMonkey
BritishMonkey - 5/22/2024, 7:42 PM
How could people misinterpret that from before? Nowhere was he speaking ill of the film, he was just being critical of himself.

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