Oscar-winning actor Gary Oldman given knighthood in King's Birthday Honours
He started out on the stage and performed in productions at the York Theatre Royal, which he recently returned to in a staging of the Samuel Beckett play Krapp's Last Tape.
One of his more recent and most recognisable roles is as veteran MI5 agent Jackson Lamb in Apple TV's Slow Horses, based on the Slough House book series by British writer Mick Herron.
Gary Oldman and Sir Jonathan Pryce at the premiere of Slow Horses at Regent Street Cinema (Ian West/PA)
Late last year he won the performance of the year gong at the 63rd Rose d'Or Awards for his role as Lamb, an unhygienic, ill-mannered individual, who has 'no vanity' and 'doesn't give an eff', according to Sir Gary.
Born on March 21 1958, a young Sir Gary toyed with the idea of becoming a musician but changed his mind after watching a Malcolm McDowell film.
He was turned down by the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada), but gained a place studying acting at the Rose Bruford College, which he graduated from in 1979.
He became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), starring in productions that included 1985's Abel And Cain at London's Almeida Theatre and first came to public attention in films including Remembrance (1982) and Sid And Nancy (1986), which saw him play the notorious punk rock star.
In the early 1990s he played Lee Harvey Oswald, alleged assassin of US president John F Kennedy, in 1991's JFK and the titular vampire in Bram Stoker's Dracula in 1992.
Other notable roles included Ludwig van Beethoven in Immortal Beloved (1994) and Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg in The Fifth Element (1997).
His directorial debut, a semi-autobiographical piece about his childhood titled Nil By Mouth, was released in 1997 and lauded as a brilliant but gut-wrenchingly emotional film.
Gary Oldman with his best actor Oscar for The Darkest Hour (Ian West/PA)
The acclaimed film earned him Baftas for outstanding British film and best original screenplay in 1998.
Across the noughties and into the 2010s he appeared in some of the Harry Potter films as Harry's godfather, Sirius Black, and also starred as Gotham City Police lieutenant Jim Gordon, in Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012).
He was lauded for his role playing George Smiley in 2011 film Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which saw him earn Bafta and Oscar nods.
He was unable to secure the leading actor gongs, however, until his role in The Darkest Hour which saw him sweep the 2018 awards season, winning an Academy Award, Bafta and more.
Upon winning his Oscar, for playing wartime leader Sir Winston, Sir Gary appeared emotional and thanked 'the Academy and its members for this glorious prize' as well as his colleagues, his wife and family in a lengthy speech.
Sir Gary has three sons, Alfie whom he shares with ex-wife Lesley Manville, and Gulliver and Charlie, whose mother is his former wife Donya Fiorentino.
The actor, whose sister is former EastEnders actress Laila Morse, has been married to Gisele Schmidt since 2017 and was previously married to Hollywood actress Uma Thurman and singer Alexandra Edenborough.
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Wales Online
33 minutes ago
- Wales Online
The celebrities who have visited Wales so far in 2025
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Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Chart-topping musician admits BRIT Awards leaving London is 'right move'
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"I didn't really think I should be there," he said, adding that he was "blocking it out" as it felt "strange." "If we ever were to have that success again, mentally, we'd be in a different place to appreciate it more," Cam said. Day One is scheduled for release in October this year via DAY ONES. Jungle feat Stefflon Don and Yung Saber is available now.
Wales Online
an hour ago
- Wales Online
Wales rugby greats sing iconic song together to help famous Welsh club after historic season
Wales rugby greats sing iconic song together to help famous Welsh club after historic season The club are raising funds after a massive promotion A a dozen former Wales and British and Irish Lions players belted out a Beach Boys classic as part of a fundraising effort for London Welsh – and the heartwarming choral rendition has been caught on camera. Mike Phillips, Gareth Edwards, Robert Jones and Gerald Davies were just some of the names in attendance in the English capital as they belted out Sloop John B by the iconic American rock band. 1971 Lions choirmaster John Taylor conducted the rendition of the famous track, with the likes of Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel and Wales legend Ken Owens also in attendance and singing along. The event was put on to raise funds for Welsh to invest in their facilities following a landmark season. All former rugby stars, including Sir Ian McGeechan and former England hooker Brian Moore, looked immaculate in their smart clothes, with everyone getting stuck into the song, with arms raised and smiles across the board. It was held at The Brewery on Chiswell Street, with famous Welsh comedian Rob Brydon a guest speaker on the night. It celebrated the 120th year since the first of more than 50 of the club's players represented the Lions. It's been a joyous season for the iconic club, who recently secured promotion back to the National Leagues after being booted out of the Championship back in 2017. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby. After years of hard work by all those behind the scenes, like former Ospreys star Cai Griffiths, the club have climbed their way back to the upper echelons of English rugby and won the league title in the process. Article continues below Despite their ascent, director of rugby Griffiths assured WalesOnline back in March that the club have no intention of targeting a return to the Premiership, they simply want to retain their players and take it season by season. "We want to target top six next season. And then we will basically build on that. The biggest thing is sustainability," he said. "When you start thinking about Championship, Premiership, you start chasing it, that means stupid decisions: payments and costs spiral out of control. "For us, we've done well getting into this league, we want to get into that top six and build again the following year, then hopefully we can get more success. "Retaining 90% of the squad (is our goal), it's a key thing. If we do that, then they'll potentially be five players going to 100 caps next season. "These guys are still young. Seeing the areas we do need to bolster up, it's a big league, as in the players are bigger, there's more games. "You need that strength in depth. The quality is there, even in the second team now. There are a lot of players who have come from the seconds to the firsts. We want to keep on with that pipeline of players." Next season, Welsh will be competing in the National League Two division, which is the fourth tier of English rugby. Join our WalesOnline rugby WhatsApp community here. The project to get promoted was three years in the making, with Griffiths an Co initially focusing on developing young players, and now it's clear that approach has paid off. Article continues below "The group of players that we've got now, we've had them for four, five years. There's a couple of 70-cappers in there which is fantastic and also some players who haven't won anything, so it's fantastic for them to experience that," said Griffiths.
