Biographic - Sunday January 25, 2009 Comic Strip Licensing and Permissions

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Born in London on March 21, 1958. Welder's son Gary Oldman won a scholarship to Drama school, then spent the early years of his acting career honing his talent in the theater and on TV. He made his movie debut portraying punk rocker Sid Vicious in 1986's "Sid and Nancy" shedding so much weight to play the tragic Sex Pistols star that he ended up in the hospital! The following year, his portrayal of playwright Joe Orton in "Prick Up Your Ears" earned tremendous acclaim. He made his Hollywood debut in 1988's taut thriller "Criminal Law" opposite Kevin Bacon, adopting a flawless American accent. The likes of "State Of Grace" with Sean Penn and "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead" with Tim Roth and Richard Dreyfuss, served to underscore his versatility. The early 1990s saw Oldman undertake a series of diverse, high-profile roles, he portrayed assassin Lee Harvey Oswald in Oliver Stone's controversial 1991 movie "JFK" took the title role in Francis Ford Coppola's take on "Bram Stoker's Dracula" and turned in an off-the-wall cameo in 1993's "True Romance." Subsequent roles spanned the spectrum from a corrupt lawman in "Leon" the movie that launched the career of 12-year-old Natalie Portman- to Ludwig Van Beethoven in "Immortal Beloved" from a futuristic arch-villain opposite Bruce Willis in "The Fifth Element" to a russian terrorist battling Harrison Ford's president in "Air Force One." He also starred with Anthony Hopkins in "Hannibal" played the nefarious Dr. Smith in a big-screen remake of TV's "Lost In Space" and portrayed Pontius Pilate in the 1999 telefilm "Jesus." He earned considerable praise for his directoral debut at the helm of 1997's harrowing "Nil By Mouth" a film he also wrote and produced. In recent years, a new generation of film fans has been introduced to Oldman through his role as Sirius Black in the Harry Potter series, and his portrayal of commissioner Gordon in the most recent Batman movies. He has also carved out a novel sideline voicing video games including the "Call of Duty" and "Legend of Spyro" series!

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