Gary Oldman was already known as one of the best actors in the world before snagging a Best Actor Oscar for playing Winston Churchill in 2017’s Darkest Hour, but he’s apparently in need of convincing.
The actor sat down to talk about his Apple TV+ series Slow Horses at New York City’s 92nd Street Y for a live installment of Josh Horowitz‘ Happy Sad Confused podcast, and dove deep into his other roles, too.
For one thing, Oldman says he was disappointed with his own performance in the four Harry Potter films in which he starred as wizard Sirius Black: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, and Deathly Hallows, Part 2.
Oldman says although fans “most frequently” approach him for autographs with Potter photos, he says of the franchise, “I think my work is mediocre in it.”
Oldman also noted his friend and co-star, the late Alan Rickman, had a “special relationship” with Potter creator JK Rowling. “Maybe if I’d read the books like Alan … if I had known what’s coming, I think I would have played it differently,” the actor mused.
He explains, “It’s so subjective. It’s such a personal thing … It’s not to disrespect someone who says to me, ‘Oh, I really love you in that movie,’ and I’m thinking, ‘I’m terrible in that movie. What are they talking about?’ It’s not that.”
Oldman expresses, “I think if I sat and watched myself in something and said, ‘My God, I’m amazing,’ that would be a very sad day, because you want to make the next thing better.”
That said, he admits about the Potter movies, “They killed me off too early. I’m still upset at that.”
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