Ranking Gary Oldman’s five greatest historical roles
British actor Gary Oldman is a filmmaking chameleon, appearing in the strangest array of cinematic roles as villains, prosthetic-laden monsters and a range of historical figures. Regarded as a member of the ‘Brit Pack’, a name given to a group of respected upcoming British actors in the late 1980s, Oldman was named beside the likes of Colin Firth, Tim Roth, Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul McGann as one of the most exciting future talents.
Each one of these actors has gone on to create iconic pieces of cinema too, with Colin Firth winning an Academy Award in 2011 for his role in The King’s Speech, Daniel Day-Lewis becoming one of the best performers of modern cinema, and Tim Roth buddying up with Quentin Tarantino for several memorable roles. Even Paul McGann, the least recognisable name of the bunch, helped to make British film history with the release of Withnail & I in 1987.
Transporting the viewer with frequent performances that make you analyse the screen and question, ‘is that really Gary Oldman?’, the actor is a celebrated icon who has had the chance to work with such names as Mike Leigh, Francis Ford Coppola, Luc Besson, David Fincher and Christopher Nolan. Though, no doubt who he is working with, Oldman is consistently magnetised to major and minor historical roles.
Whilst we juggled the idea of considering Dracula as a ‘historical figure’, we eventually omitted him from our list that looks into Oldman’s best performances in the boots of a past icon.
Gary Oldman’s five greatest historical roles:
5. Sid Vicious – Sid and Nancy (Alex Cox, 1986)
Despite confessing that he “I wasn’t really that interested in Sid Vicious and the punk movement,” in an interview with Terry Gross on NPR in 1998, Oldman’s performance helped him considerably to rise up the ranks of the industry. Starring opposite Chloe Webb, David Hayman and Andrew Schofield, the actor gives a commanding performance that most audiences were hypnotised by.
As a high-profile film about the much-loved singer of the Sex Pistols, Oldman’s wild role in the film, that he dedicates himself to both physically and mentally, would lead him to bigger and better things.
4. Ludwig van Beethoven – Immortal Beloved (Bernard Rose, 1994)
Depicting the iconic Ludwig van is no easy task (just ask Ed Harris), but Oldman does an excellent job getting his head around the mind of the groundbreaking musician, leading the 1994 movie Immortal Beloved with aplomb. Admittedly, the movie itself, which follows Beethoven’s pursuit of one of his many lost loves, is troubled, featuring a lethargic story which overstays its welcome.
Yet, the beauty of this list is in the fact that we can highlight the greatness of several overlooked performances, and this is certainly one of them.
3. Joseph L. Mankiewicz – Mank (David Fincher, 2020)
Gary Oldman’s nuanced portrayal of Herman J. Mankiewicz in David Fincher’s Mank is one of his all-time greatest roles. Nominated for Best Leading Actor at the Academy Awards, without taking the statuette home, Oldman showed a very different type of performance in Fincher’s Netflix movie, demonstrating that he didn’t need several layers of prosthetics to pull off an iconic character performance.
In a thought-provoking, dialogue-heavy role, Oldman makes Fincher’s Hollywood history piece a riveting watch.
2. Winston Churchill – Darkest Hour (Joe Wright, 2017)
The British prime minister during WWII is one of the most physically distinctive historical figures of all time, sporting a face that defines the stiff upper lip, with those same puckers often sucking a rather large cigar. He’s not an easy figure to play, after all, he comes with a lot of baggage, with many holding him as a British war hero, whilst others brand him a racist. Yet, despite this, Oldman was able to break through the discussion and provide one of his all-time best performances.
Winning the Academy Award for Best Leading Actor, Oldman was well deserved of his long-deserved Oscar, beating out the likes of Denzel Washington, Timothée Chalamet and Daniel Kaluuya.
1. Joe Orton – Prick Up Your Ears (Stephen Frears, 1987)
The Stephen Frears film Prick Up Your Ears, may be the least well-known movie on this list of Oldman greats, but it happens to contain one of the actor’s very best performances. Playing the role of John Kingsley Orton, an influential English playwright, author, and diarist who thrilled audiences with his black comedies, Oldman put together a smart, romantic and incredibly compelling performance.
Starring alongside Alfred Molina, Vanessa Redgrave, Lindsay Duncan, Wallace Shawn and Julie Walters, Oldman’s performance at the end of the 1980s displays all the promise of an actor at his most liberating phase.
