“He’s very confident”: the one director Gary Oldman labelled a real artist
When you have a portfolio that is as varied and extensive as Gary Oldman‘s, it becomes impossible not to draw comparisons between the quality of productions and coworkers as you move from project to project. That’s exactly how most professionals in the movie industry know whom to collaborate with again, in order to make that filmography even more impressive.
In Oldman’s case, as someone who’s worked with the likes of Francis Ford Coppola and Christopher Nolan, the standard that is expected right from the start is extremely high. These are auteurs whose approach to their craft has influenced countless other filmmakers, and as actors, understanding and delivering their vision is the most important part of the job description.
Of course, Oldman himself has set the standard for actors all around the world. While he has many prestigious entries in the first half of his filmography, the English actor is still going strong and putting up remarkable performances. Be it his outing as President Truman in Oppenheimer or his career-defining portrayal of the slovenly but brilliant MI5 operative in Slow Horses, witnessing what Oldman is achieving in recent years is even more exciting.
However, despite the long list of very prominent collaborators, the Slow Horses star once singled out a particular filmmaker as an epitome of what it means to be an artist. During a conversation with IndieWire, Oldman took the opportunity to heap praise upon Swedish director Tomas Alfredson, with whom he had the chance to work on the fantastic 2011 spy movie Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
Oldman said: “The lovely thing is he’s very confident. I like his decisiveness. I’ll give you a for-instance. When we were shooting the private house where [two associates] meet, there’s a scene where I listen to them arriving, where [Alfredson] just plays it in on me, and they’re coming up the stairs. I take the mint. When he said he was going to shoot that just on me, I thought, ‘What do you mean?’ He says, ‘I’m going to do a close-up on you, and then I’ll put sounds in and have you reacting to it.'”
Continuing, “Now, another director, they would’ve cut to the hand on the doorbell, the feet going up the stairs, the close-up of the briefcase, the cars coming in, and maybe even shot an alternate. In editing, maybe, if it didn’t work… Tomas knew it was going to work. He didn’t shoot other stuff. I really admired that. That’s what separates the men from the boys. That’s working with a real artist. He’s very confident in his taste and choices.”
His trust in Alfredson’s confidence and vision definitely paid off, because Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy remains one of the standout entries in Oldman’s acclaimed body of work. Outside of the widespread critical acclaim and the multiple Oscar nominations, including a ‘Best Actor’ nod for Oldman, it is a fan favourite that is championed by fans of both John le Carré novels as well as the genre in general.
