Is there an actor or actress with a better range than Gary Oldman? I saw this on Twitter and wanted you guys thoughts?
https://x.com/rothmus/status/1805655678931157372?s=46&t=_KvHIJJJzQNY7mnWg4Caow
EVERYONE!!!
“EVERYYYYYYY ONEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!”
That's a top 5 fav movie for me. It's a masterpiece.
once you have daughters it’s almost impossible to watch.
For real, that scene where he takes the pill still haunts me!
I haven’t got time for this Mickey Mouse bullshit!
Get me everyone. Everyone? EVVVVVVVERYYYYONNNNNNNNE!!!!
EVERYONE knows that.
You could say that about like half of his films. He absolutely killed his role in True Romance too
Gary Oldman is an incredible actor
Imagine one day you're at work or out for a drink or doing the shopping and someone shouts "CUT" and it turns out you were Gary Oldman all along.
That's how good an actor he is.
J.K. Rowling reveals that you, the reader, were gay Gary Oldman all along
Why so Sirius?
I've legitimately wanted a poster with this phrase and Goldman from HP since the third movie came out. I actually wish he was cast as a different character just for additional screen time
It’s not the destination, but the Gary Oldmans we met on the way
Great. Now I can't trust anyone.
I'm so "method" I refuse the paychecks.
That's how good an actor he is.
That collage is missing his Oscar Performance though 😐
lol reminds me of a joke me and my buddies have that every actor on screen, person in our lives, and anybody we hear about in a story is actually just Christoph Waltz. He can play any person ever. But Gary Oldman would be more accurate, he has more range.
I feel like Christoph Waltz is a good actor but he's always playing some variation of the same character
Christopher Waltz is played by Gary Oldman. You didn't know that?
Check out The Zero Theorem. Not Terry Gilliam’s best, but it’s a solid film and Christoph Waltz is almost unrecognizable in it. He’ll always have that accent though. Gary Oldman can sound like anyone and that’s a huge advantage.
I have to Google the dark knight whenever I forget his name. I've seen all of his movies and love his work. That's how good of an actor he his.
I have a hard time remembering it, too 😅
My wife had never seen the Fifth Element before, so we got high together and watched it. When I told her that Zorg was not only Commissioner Jim Gordon but Sirius Black as well, she legitimately did not believe me. Once it settled in, I showed her a picture of him as Churchill.
I may know his voice and face, but Gary Oldman never fails to deliver highly believable and in-depth performances. I honestly forget I'm watching an actor playing a role.
Oldman also consistently makes me forget that I'm watching him play a role. It's remarkable. What's even more remarkable is how many times, visually, he's just Gary Oldman with a different haircut and you still forget you're watching Gary Oldman.
That's exactly what I meant by saying I know his face and voice! Like as soon you see it's him you're like "I'm either an idiot or this guy is really, really good!"
Gary Oldman could play Gary Oldman in a biopic about Gary Oldman and you still wouldn’t know it was him.
my boy Victor fucking Reznov.
I have his performances in WoW and Black Ops burned into my brain at this point.
Reznov was Oldman??
The man's a chameleon
No doubt.
I love how he makes it a point to look/sound different in every movie, sequels aside.
Vincent D'onofrio is the same. He loves to disappear
To me Vincent D’Onofrio is the king. How could one man be Private Pyle AND the bug?
Private Pyle and 'Thor' Towtruck driver in Adventures in Babysitting..... in the same year!
Holy shit. Vincent is Thor in AiB?
He really makes MIB
It’s honestly one of my top 5 actor performances ever.
Fuckin Pooh Bear was unhinged in Salton Sea.
Thank you. I sometimes feel like I'm the only person that has seen that movie. Val Kilmer was so good in it, too.
i’ve watched almost every film OP put in the collage but i still don’t know what he looks like.
Vincent D’Onofrio’s acting in Law & Order was hard for me to watch, and didn’t really like him in Daredevil. He had an amazing performance as Pyle, but that was more about Kubrick than D’Onofrio if I look at their body of work. Do not like watching him, he seems like a fine guy, but not my cup of tea.
I feel EXACTLY the same, but that's a very unpopular opinion around here.
His role on L&O just always seemed like he was doing a bad Columbo impression. Gave me the ick and I never recovered.
But at the same time it IS L&O. Not really a place to throw down your chops. Very by the numbers.
Idk man, I think he’s pretty damn good. Prob not quite there with Oldman but he’s seriously good. Still remember his creepy ass performance from that weird J Lo movie, The Cell.
It is very hard to believe that the guy from tinker tailor soldier is the same guy from Leon is the same guy from fifth element. He is a master of his craft.
He played both Beethoven and Sid Vicious.
He should have won an Oscar for TTSS. An incredible performance in a career chock full of outstanding performances.
How could you forget Gary Oldman in the role of a lifetime
Came to this thread for Tiptoes. Was not disappointed.
Kate Beckinsale only took her role in this movie under the condition that she could wear her favorite hat in the film.
Sometimes you gotta make your own fun.
ITS A GREAT MOVIE. Like 40 minutes in it clicks and you realize the writers either were fired and rehired, or just said fuck it.
A second set of writers took a hatchet to the script according to Dinklage. Cinephobe did a great episode on it that goes into a lot of the trivia.
No way hahahaaa I'm for sure going to check that out. I was watching it with my brother and we were both confused what was happening
Uncut Gems had the fuck it feeling, I thought it was something like that.
Couldn’t follow uncut gems. It’s like there are scenes out of place or something.
What in the fuck was that. I really thought that was a parody of some sort one minute in, but nope that was an actual movie that actually came out.
"They're not midgets, they're dwarves" I lost it
Wow I lost it at the end when they actually introduce gary oldman with “and in the role of a lifetime: gary oldman”. How have I never seen this movie.
Had to watch it twice through, and somehow laughed even harder the second time they got to “Commanding performances…” and “Role of a lifetime”. I absolutely, 100% cannot 🤣🤣🤣
Yep, even Gary can overreach.
The Full Retard
Wow, I'd never heard of this! Kinda puts to bed the idea that having the whole movie in the trailer is a modern phenomenon haha.
Also I found their use of the phrase "command performance" weird. They make it sound like a superlative but I thought it meant "performing because we were ordered to [by the king]"
my life will never be the same
somebody made that trailer and was like yeah lets go with that
Gary Oldman is so good he stepped in and replaced my wife for 6 months and I didn't notice
Slow Horses ? Anyone ???
When I watch that show I can't even believe it's the same guy as all those other roles.
Exactly! He’s practically carrying the show. Such a joy to watch whenever he’s on screen.
Your comment is word-for-word what I was going to say.
I would be at a total loss if someone asked, "What else has he been in?"
His performance in slow horses is one of the finest I’ve seen in years.
That show is one of the rare examples of the show actually being better than the books (in my opinion) and I think that may be because of the personality and life he pours into Jackson Lamb.
Fucking inject that show direct into my veins. It’s the one show I wait for and get genuinely excited when a new episode drops
I met Gary Oldman at a client's home once about 25 years ago. Total chance encounter - he stopped by to see my client at his brand new home. I was introduced to him and then excused myself so they could catch up.
When he left he made a point to find me and say "It was a pleasure to meet you, [Auric]".
I don't get star struck much, but that was very human and cool of him. Respect.
I think he appreciated how you let and and the client catch up.
I had no idea he was in The Red Dragon Hannibal.
/whoops
He wasn't. He was in Hannibal.
This trivia tidbit might only be of interest to folk of a certain age but this is my excuse to let everyone know that Gary Oldman is in fact two weeks younger than Gary Numan.
You didn't evem include The Darkest Hour
Or TIPTOES
That's what I thought too. These pics lean heavily towards the 90s and OPs point would be better made if there were more recent roles. Not including Darkest Hour is a huge oversight.
Christian Bale has incredible range. Give him another 20 years and he'll be just as legendary as Oldman.
Bale in American Hustle was phenomenal
Oh man, when he messes up his hair. DAMN! That was some phenomenal acting.
Fun fact: there is only one actor in all of Hollywood. The entirety of movie history is just Gary Oldman doing multiple performances.
Jean-Baptiste... Emanuel... Zorg...
My favourite
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead?
No? :-(
Came here for this comment
Is there an actor or actress with a better range than Gary Oldman?
No
Tilda Swinton, Robin Williams, Charlize Theron, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Toni Collet and Adam Sandler are the next on the list and the gap between Tilda and Oldman is immense.
Tilda Swinton is a great callout. She has some fantastic performances.
Cate Blanchett as far as straight acting ability goes, for me, is top notch.
Tatiana Maslany could fit in that space between Oldman and Swinton, her performances on Orphan Black were insanely good.
If I could make everybody on the planet watch Orphan Black just so that they could understand and appreciate how insanely talented Tatiana is, I would. People who haven't watched it are missing out. Maybe the show sucks at certain points but she is fucking amazing.
Tatiana was amazing in it. Show never had the steam to make it past a first season.
Dammit, should have read further before commenting. My thoughts exactly.
The couple of times they had her playing one role, disguised as as another role, I’m pretty sure I just sat there like 😮 the whole time.
Toni Collette is amazing
I’d argue Swinton has even more range than Williams/Theron/Collette/Sandler. She’s number 2 in my book.
Adam Sandler has range? Most of his movies, especially his comedies, are him playing a man child of some sort.
What sort of range does he really have?
Punch Drunk Love, Uncut Gems, Hustle, Spaceman, The Cobbler, The Meyerowitz Stories. If you haven't watched him since the year 2000 that stance is understandable, but he's had some fantastic performances for the past several decades.
Every major actor has "had some fantastic performances." Sandler is always great in whatever he's in, but range his hardly his thing.
john Leguizamo.
dude has been action heroes, comic book villains, been in musicals, played women, 1 of the most iconic portrayals of a Shakespeare character, voice character work, Broadway, DreamWorks, Disney, comedy, drama, action, u name it.
I would add Cate Blanchett to that list.
No Jim Carrey or Johnny Depp but you have Adam Sandler on here 🤷♂️
Oldman is funny as hell in Slow Horses.
Ben Foster
If Philip Seymour Hoffman were still making movies I like to think he’d be in the conversation
💯 agree
His Churchill was fantastic, but his Churchill dancing like James Brown is next level, out of the ball park
He's played EEEEEVERYYYYYOOOOOONE!
I just watched true romance and it made me crack up. Not that he wasn’t good, but how the hell do you get to cast Gary for a ridiculous role like that lol
lol, it ain’t white boy day is it?
Can’t believe this wasn’t mentioned sooner. Nice work
Daniel Day-Lewis comes to mind.
Incredible actor. Wish we couldve seen him in a role that takes place a little more current.
Range doesn’t describe him, he is just EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING period.
Hell, you could fill up half that collage just with pics of him from Dracula. He was an old dude, young dude, bat dude, wolf dude, probably others.
Don’t forget his amazing performance in The Book Of Eli
Shoulda won an Oscar for fifth element, all im sayin.
That man is Amazing. Usually it's only scrolling through imdb that I find out it's him.
He can be genius all made up in prosthetic as in Churchill.
He can just be himself like in Slow Horses, where he leans into the farting genius slob Jackson Lamb.
His villain performance in Leon is up there with the greatest ever.
Don't see in the meme or any comments, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead. Unreal! Aren't there any other dorks here lol?
Fun fact: Gary Oldman is 13 days younger than Gary Numan.
I'm ashamed to admit, looking at him as Jim Gordon it's like I'm just now realizing who played him...I think I just watched the movies and went "yep that's Jim Gordon" without thinking about Gary playing him. Maybe it was the mustache, or I'm just really dumb
He's one of the best there is.
What I like about his films is that I never see him...just the characters he plays.
He totally disappears into the part.
I literally struggle recognizing him in movies cause he always looks so different like serious black and commissioner Gordon were close but I would never guess that it’s the same actor
"Now who or what is a Drexl?"
Bryan Cranston
Gary Oldman is a brilliant chameleon. Check out Prick Up Your Ears.
Who can Gary Oldman play?
”EVERYONE!”
Jake Gyllenhaal: Nightcrawler, Donnie Darko, Spider-Man Far From Home, Bubble Boy, The Music Man in that John Mulaney thing for Netflix, Source Code, Brokeback Mountain, End of Watch, Stronger, Southpaw, Okja, The Guilty, Nocturnal Animals
Well, like, obviously.
Alec Guinness (Gary's predecessor as Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), although his performances as non-white characters would be a big no currently.
I've seen so many of his movies that I'm pretty sure I have no idea what Gary Oldman actually looks like.
Jackson Lamb
“How many characters can you play?”
Gary: “E V E R Y O N E!!”
No Churchill? It was one of his finest I think.
Missing Churchill, he played the shit out of that role.
He is one of the best overall actors of his age that doesn’t get as much spotlight as he deserves
Somehow I’ve lived this long as a fan of Gary Oldman and have just learned he played Verger in Hannibal.
I don’t see his character from Tiptoes… what gives?
Didn’t even include Tip Toes
It's always a shame that people keep forgetting about Romeo Is Bleeding, average movie but he did a killer performance in that one
I had a conversation with a dude who was a huge Gary Oldman fan after Dark Knight came out. He told me he would love for him to play Joker as they hadn’t announced the second movie at the time of discussion. (Which I agreed wholeheartedly with)
He felt more than foolish when I reminded him Gary Oldman was already playing Commissioner Gordon in the series. The guy is such a good actor, you forget he’s him…
Mickey Rourke deserves mention as well. I didn’t know he was in Iron Man 2 until I read the movie credits. Blew me away.
Disappointed they didn't include Tip Toes.
But where's Tip Toes
Nolan wanted him for scarecrow and made him Gordon. If that's not range I dont know what is
I've used him as an example that Oscars are popularity awards at worst and usually lifetime achievement awards.
The actual best performances don't win best actor/actress. It's either someone we like to watch like Denzel, Hanks, or Jack Nicholson or it's someone finally getting recognized for lasting so long. Did anyone really think Sandra Bullock in "The Blindside" was better than Meryl Streep in "Doubt"? But she had been better in other movies, but never got her due.
Gary Oldman was so good in roles people didn't know his name for a long time. He was the role. He was one the biggest "that guy" actors for many people. I knew he had been Dracula when he played Comm. Gordon in the Nolan Batman movies. Kinda wondered where he went. Turns out he was in all sorts of things like "The Fifth Element".
Compare that to Denzel Washington or Jack Nicholson. People barely know their characters' names but they sure are fun to watch.
Oldman had to do a movie like "Darkest Hour" to get an Oscar, and everyone knew it was his award that year.
Other actors like this:
Christian Bale early on
Daniel Day Lewis - He won an Oscar for "My Left Foot" in the early 80s. Then was in all sorts of things. But many people thought he came out of nowhere for "There Will Be Blood". He was the start of 'never go full r-word' joke.
Where tf is Jackson Lamb!
HFS! He was the mangled cripple in Hannibal?!? Never would’ve guessed that!
I didn’t realize he was the guy from Hannibal
I legit didn’t realize Gary Oldman was that guy in Hannibal.
Although it isn't film, his voice acting for Reznov in Call of Duty World at War and Black Ops was absolutely legendary. His villain roles are downright chilling. Love his work.
Don’t forget he played a peacock in Kung Fu Panda 2 too.
He's so good in everything, but I really liked Comission Gordon because it was such a nothing role, and he brought such humanity to it.
TIL Hannibal
Oldman is the man. I also think Brad Dorif is the shit. And Toni Collette. But yeah, oldman… the man
When googling Gary Oldman is important you don't forget the 'r'
When you have so much range, you have a 16-tile picture made of your roles, and they leave off a best actor role
Disney missed out by not casting Gary Oldman for "Pirates of the Caribbean".
Immortal beloved.... that's a very good movie...
Most of the time I didn’t even realize it was Gary Oldman playing the role because he was so convincing as an actor.
One of the best hands down
If you haven’t seen it. Watch Nil by Mouth. Gary Oldman’s directorial debut, also wrote it. Is a gritty movie that’s influenced by Gary Oldman’s younger life growing up.
Literally the only actor where I’ve gone a whole movie and didn’t know he was in the movie until the credits
He looked really different in kung fu panda 2.
But I can't put my finger on why.
Everyon is Gary Oldman
Gary Oldman.
He’s everywhere.
He’s in line behind you at the grocery store. He’s also stocking the produce. And there he is, over there, working in the deli, next to the bakery where he is also working.
You go to the register pay for your groceries. Gary Oldman is the cashier. You insert your debit card, and you notice it’s issued by The Bank of Gary Oldman. You look to your right. You see that Gary Oldman is bagging your groceries.
You exit the grocery store, and see Gary Oldman working as the cart attendant. Gary Oldman is driving every vehicle you encounter on your way home. All the vehicles are Gary Buick Oldsmanmobiles. Every single one. You get home and your spouse greets you. Your spouse is also Gary Oldman.
You watch that YouTube video with the song about Shia LaBeouf, but Gary Oldman is also Shia LaBeouf.
This is too much for you. You go to the bathroom to get some aspirin from the medicine cabinet. As you fill a glass of water, closing the medicine cabinet over the sink, you see your reflection in the mirror, and it is at that moment when you realize that you too, are Gary Oldman.
“Hello, Gary,” you say to yourself. Now you remember it all. It’s come back to you as clear as day.
You chuckle to yourself. At first, quietly. But your laughter gradually becomes a full blown manic tempest. The emotions all cascade out of you like the waters of a one hundred year flood - strong, steady, and unstoppable, but with no direction, meaning, or purpose. You’re a person who while hopelessly lost in the despair of their fate, in the process of attempting to accept it, has perhaps instead, lost their mind.
But the storm passes, and the quiet returns. And you remember why it has to be this way.
You slowly shut your eyes. You pause. You slowly open your eyes. You look in the mirror again, as you take a deep breath. You know what you have to do. You open the bathroom door, and you walk out.
original comment: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/qyb1d0/comment/hlf391s/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
sometimes I forget that Gary Oldman used to be Gary Youngman
Must have thought it was white boy day
I’m only now realising he was in The Fifth Element.
and you still forgot Winston...
Tom Hardy enters the chat.
Drexl Spivey still blows my mind. I had seen Gary Oldman in countless movies and had no clue whatsoever that was him until i was reading about True Romance after watching it.
“Now siddown an eat a muhfuckin egg roll”
Dude i literally never realized he was Sirius in Harry Potter until right now. Truly insane range.
Pedro Pascal. Keanu Reeves. Michael Pena.
I'm confused, why show off 16 pictures of different people?
I never knew he was the busted up face guy in Red Dragon. Holy. He’s def top tier. And yes yes “EVERYONE!!!!!” Iconic
Gary Oldman is your favorite actor's favorite actor
Gary Oldman as Harry Truman in “Oppenheimer”
I think he’s one of the best of all time.
I honestly enjoy Brad pitta variety a lot too
The only one that I can think of that might have come close if he had more time is Heath Ledger. He disappeared in his roles just like Gary Oldman. In particular, him playing Skip Engblom in Lords of Dogtown. The portrayal was amazing.
(Lower right)
I tried to get my kids ti laugh at the joke “I am Sirius and don’t call me Shirley” but took too much explanation.
Small role but him in Oppenheimer was good.
And his episode with Joey on Friends is probably my fave for “some random actor in for one episode”
Trivia: he’s been doing American accents for so long, he needed an accent coach to regain his British accent for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
Gary fucking old man knows no acting bounds. This is known!
Old man is gold…man
He’s my favorite actor for this reason. He’s not playing himself - he’s playing a character and all of them unique!
I love Drexl so much. Also when he played the Russian terrorist in Air Force One. Honestly yeah Gary Oldman is one of the 🐐s
Oldman as Churchill should be in that image
💯
Recently rewatched Leon the Professional and Gary Oldman killed it in that movie. He felt so unhinged and creepy. Portman was also amazing. When she cries quietly at Leons door holy crap.