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).