Gary Oldman Said His Acting In "Harry Potter" Was "Mediocre," And Honestly, I Agree With Him

    I have to agree with Gary on this one.

    Mychal Thompson
    by Mychal Thompson

    BuzzFeed Staff

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    Gary Oldman is arguably one of the greatest actors of our time.

    Screenshots of Gary Oldman in two different films
    Warner Bros / Everett Collection

    The 65-year-old Academy Award winner has been in over 70 movies, with each role becoming more iconic than the next. But, believe it or not, he's not the biggest fan of one of his most famous roles to date.

    A closeup of Gary wearing eyeglasses and a newsboy cap
    Dominik Bindl / Getty Images

    Born in London, England, Gary started with a career in theatre before jumping over to movies with some killer roles as a character actor.

    Gary as a child
    Evening Standard / Getty Images
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    Such as Lee Harvey Oswald in JFK (1991).

    Gary Oldman in "JFK" talking to the press
    Warner Bros / ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

    Count Dracula in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992).

    Gary as Count Dracula licking a bloody item
    Columbia Pictures / ©Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

    Drexl Spivey in True Romance (1993).

    Warner Bros / ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

    Norman Stansfield in Léon: The Professional (1994).

    Norman yelling
    Gaumont

    Ivan Korshunov in Air Force One (1997).

    Ivan holding a gun to the neck of Harrison Ford's character
    Sony Pictures / ©Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

    And Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg in The Fifth Element (1997).

    Columbia Pictures / ©Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

    Eventually, he stepped away from playing primarily villains to recreating real-life figures like Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour (2017).

    Gary Oldman in "Darkest Hour"
    Focus Features /Courtesy Everett Collection

    And Herman J. Mankiewicz in Mank (2020).

    Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection

    But nothing is more memorable than his character, James "Jim" Gordon, in one of the greatest film franchises, The Dark Knight Trilogy.

    Screenshot from "The Dark Knight"
    Warner Bros / ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

    And, of course, Sirius Black in the Harry Potter series.

    Sirius Black crouching next to Harry Potter
    Warner Bros / ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

    Despite how fans might feel about his short-lived character in the magical franchise based on the popular novels — Gary thinks his portrayal as Sirius was mediocre, and I wholeheartedly agree.

    Warner Bros / ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

    On an episode of Happy Sad Confused, Gary talked about his prominent roles in Harry Potter and Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and revealed an unpopular take.

    Screenshot from "Harry Potter"
    Warner Bros / ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

    I don't count Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire because he was just a pile of hot rocks.

    While he admitted Sirius is one of his most popular roles, he doesn't think it's his best. "I think my work is mediocre in it," he said.

    "I think my work is mediocre in it"
    @joshhorowitz / Via youtu.be

    "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've played it differently."

    @joshhorowitz / Via youtu.be

    I have to agree. Sure, you can't talk about Gary without mentioning Sirius, but compared to the other illustrious roles over the last few decades — it's nowhere close to his best. For good reason, he swept the SAG Awards, Golden Globes, BAFTAs, and Academy Awards for Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour.

    Focus Features /Courtesy Everett Collection

    To be fair, Gary also said, "I'd put it all in a fire and burn it and do it again," about most of his roles, so he's a little harsh on his filmography.

    @joshhorowitz / Via youtu.be

    Sure, I'm an insufferable millennial Potterhead. But, I'm not going to pretend like Sirius's 20 minutes and 45 seconds in the entire 19 hours and 39 minutes of the Harry Potter franchise changed any lives.

    Warner Bros.

    Perhaps, if his character was given more screen time or backstory in the films, we could've seen what Gary can really do on the silver screen.

    If Harry Potter or The Dark Knight is your only access to Gary's career, it's time for you to rent some new movies.

    Stream all eight Harry Potter films on Peacock.

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