# what are some quintessential gary oldman roles? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 6, 2009, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-quintessential-gary-oldman-roles/505515 "2009-08-06T08:47:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-quintessential-gary-oldman-roles/505515/1 "2009-08-06T08:47:18Z")
Gary Oldman gets a lot of mentions on this board (recently in the [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=527061)for people deserving an Oscar), as should he. He was always a favorite of mine and an actor who always seems to disappear into his roles while still being alluring and excellent. So I wonder – what is the quintessential Gary Oldman? Where do I go for the most Gary Oldman-ness? ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-quintessential-gary-oldman-roles/505515/2 "2009-08-06T11:45:51Z")
> [@cactus\_waltz](#): > > He was always a favorite of mine and an actor who always seems to disappear into his roles while still being alluring and excellent. > So I wonder – what is the quintessential Gary Oldman? Where do I go for the most Gary Oldman-ness? Sorry, just to clarify what you’re asking for . . . Is “Most Gary Oldman-ness” meant _in contrast_ to Gary Oldman always disappearing into his roles? or . . . “Disappearig into his roles” being a quintessential Gary Oldman quality, would “Most Gary Oldman-ness” be best exemplified by roles into which he most disappears? If the former, I actually think his Jim Gordon from the Batman movies is the most like how he- the actual guy- comes across in interviews, maybe also his Albert Milo in _Basquiat_. If the latter, I’d say . . . oh, I guess Mason Verger in _Hannibal_ would be an obvious choice. My Gary Oldman “Primer” for someone unfamiliar with his work would be: _Sid and Nancy_ _Dracula_ _The Professional_ _The Fifth Element_ _Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead_ _True Romance_ ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-quintessential-gary-oldman-roles/505515/3 "2009-08-06T11:58:10Z")
I think the quintessential Gary Oldman role is actually Sirius Black - wild-eyed, volatile, brilliant… but also decent, kind and warm. It’s basically the whole package in a single role. ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-quintessential-gary-oldman-roles/505515/4 "2009-08-06T14:13:58Z")
I don’t know if there’s a “quintessential” Gary Oldman role, but my favorite will always be _The Professional_. So delightfully psychotic. Honorable mention to his role as Beethoven in _Immortal Beloved_. Great range of acting skills in that one. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-quintessential-gary-oldman-roles/505515/5 "2009-08-06T14:34:42Z")
This was a very small role, but I think one of his most impressive performances was as Lee Harvey Oswald in _JFK_. He’s only in a few brief scenes, but his accuracy is uncanny. You feel like you’re watching actual, archived newsreel footage. Just spot on. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-quintessential-gary-oldman-roles/505515/6 "2009-08-06T15:44:49Z")
My favorite Gary Oldman movie is _True Romance_, in which he plays a black pimp. I cannot, in good conscience, recommend the movie, but Oldman was one of the few good parts of _Lost in Space_. He did not play your typical Gary Oldman-style psychopath. He played Doctor Smith! In one scene, Doctor Smith and Major West were bickering, and if you closed your eyes, you could visualize the original actors doing the scene. Both Oldman and LeBlanc had the voices down pat. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-quintessential-gary-oldman-roles/505515/7 "2009-08-06T16:01:56Z")
Another vote for Jim Gordon in Batman…brilliant casting. Not at all a showy role, deliberately un-showy, in fact. You need a really good actor to pull it off and off he did pull it. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-quintessential-gary-oldman-roles/505515/8 "2009-08-06T16:03:06Z")
> [@SaharaTea](#): > > I don’t know if there’s a “quintessential” Gary Oldman role, but my favorite will always be _The Professional_. So delightfully psychotic. > [@bienville](#): > > _The Professional_ A-hem! The movie is called **Leon**. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-quintessential-gary-oldman-roles/505515/9 "2009-08-06T16:06:31Z")
I first remember him from _Sid & Nancy_ and _Prick Up Your Ears_, and those still remain the gold standard for me. He really ran a great risk, in the 90s, of being typecast as the over-the-top heavy, so I’m very grateful for the Potter & Batman films to show a warmer more empathetic and decent side. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-quintessential-gary-oldman-roles/505515/10 "2009-08-06T17:00:03Z")
For whatever tis datum is worth – my wife thought he was also the hottest Dracula ever. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-quintessential-gary-oldman-roles/505515/11 "2009-08-06T17:07:57Z")
I think Sid and Zorg are his best roles, but he’s such a great guy as Sirius that I want him for my godfather. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-quintessential-gary-oldman-roles/505515/12 "2009-08-06T17:14:16Z")
[Chattahoochee.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099242/) CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-quintessential-gary-oldman-roles/505515/13 "2009-08-06T17:15:11Z")
I don’t know if it is the most quintessential Gary Oldman role,l but I think the most quintisenntial Gary Oldman moment is in this [scene](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrTsuvykUZk) form _Leon_ “Bennie, bring me everyone.” “What do you mean everyone?” “EVERYONE!!!” ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-quintessential-gary-oldman-roles/505515/14 "2009-08-06T17:19:34Z")
Definitely Rosencrantz. or Guildenstern. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-quintessential-gary-oldman-roles/505515/15 "2009-08-06T17:33:10Z")
Agreed with Rozencrantz and Sid and Nancy. He has a great role as a nasty politician in The Contender. Also great performances by Joan Allen, Jeff Bridges, and Christian Slater. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-quintessential-gary-oldman-roles/505515/16 "2009-08-06T17:57:51Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > I don’t know if it is the most quintessential Gary Oldman role,l but I think the most quintisenntial Gary Oldman moment is in this [scene](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrTsuvykUZk) form _Leon_ > > “Bennie, bring me everyone.” > “What do you mean everyone?” > “EVERYONE!!!” Agreed. Movie villains have been taking lessons from that scene for 15 years now. Including Oldman himself when he showed up as the crazed Russian revolutionary in **Air Force One**. ---
**Author:** ![Easy\_Easter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8c91f0/32.png) [@Easy\_Easter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Easy_Easter)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-quintessential-gary-oldman-roles/505515/17 "2009-08-06T19:10:49Z")
Oldman is one of my favs. As Jack in “Romeo is Bleeding”, he so convincingly played a dirty cop in over his head. Although the action was implausible at times, I thought he did a great job portraying a sorry sack of … For pure romance, I enjoyed “Dracula”, big noggin and all, although it strayed pretty far from the book. However, Sid and Nancy", although disturbingly well-acted, has not achieved cult-status with me as with others. That has to do more with the subject matter than Oldman. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-quintessential-gary-oldman-roles/505515/18 "2009-08-06T19:30:47Z")
Americans may not be familiar with this early BBC film but it really is the quintessential Oldman. He plays a ruthless leader of a gang of football hooligans in [The Firm](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095158/). It was the first time I’d seen him and I just knew he was destined for greatness. ---
**Author:** ![ProfessorX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@ProfessorX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ProfessorX)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-quintessential-gary-oldman-roles/505515/19 "2009-08-06T19:31:29Z")
My favorite of all time is Stansfield from The Professional, great movie all around and him as the villain is so perfect. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-quintessential-gary-oldman-roles/505515/20 "2009-08-06T19:50:59Z")
He’s a great character actor. Several years ago, before I started noticing him on everybody’s great actor lists, I started thinking about how he was Sid Vicious, Dracula, Beethoven, the pimp from True Romance, etc . . . it was a couple years after seeing all these movies that it just dawned on me that it was all the same guy. That’s when he became one of my favorite actors. I actually don’t value the ability to disappear completely into a role as much as I used to, but I still like Oldman, and appreciate what he’s capable of doing. > [@SaharaTea](#): > > Honorable mention to his role as Beethoven in _Immortal Beloved_. Great range of acting skills in that one. I watched that about 10 years ago and loved it. Then I watched it again about a month ago and realized that Gary Oldman was the _only_ good thing about it. They were trying to make _Citizen Beethoven_ and mostly failed. Probably would’ve failed completely had they not gotten Oldman as their lead. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-quintessential-gary-oldman-roles/505515.md?page=2)