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        Gary Oldman Drags His 'Mediocre' Performance In The 'Harry Potter' Film Series
    
        Dominik Bindl/Getty Images
    
    The Oscar winner didn't have kind words for his work as Sirius Black in the 'Harry Potter' film series while chatting on the 'Happy Sad Confused' podcast.

By Koh MochizukiJan 02, 2024
Koh Mochizuki

	Koh Mochizuki is a Los Angeles based actor whose work has been spotted anywhere from Broadway stages to Saturday Night Live.

	He received his B.A. in English literature and is fluent in Japanese.

	In addition to being a neophyte photographer, he is a huge Disney aficionado and is determined to conquer all Disney parks in the world to publish a photographic chronicle one day. Mickey goals.

	Instagram: kohster Twitter: @kohster1 Flickr: nyckmo
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Gary Oldman claimed his performance as Pure-Blood wizard Sirius Black in the Harry Potter movies was "mediocre" in an interview. 
On the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the 65-year-old Oscar winner said:
“I think my work is mediocre in it."He continued with a nod to his late co-star Alan Rickman:
“Maybe if I had read [J.K. Rowling’s] books, like Alan, if I got ahead of the curve, if I had known what’s coming, I honestly think I would’ve played it differently."
Gary Oldman says his work as Sirius Black in \xe2\x80\x98Harry Potter\xe2\x80\x99 was \xe2\x80\x9cmediocre\xe2\x80\x9d:\n\n\xe2\x80\x9cI think my work is mediocre in it\xe2\x80\xa6 Maybe if I had read the books\xe2\x80\xa6 if I had got ahead of the curve, if I had known what\xe2\x80\x99s coming, I honestly think I would\xe2\x80\x99ve played it differently.\xe2\x80\x9d
 —  (@)
        
You can watch the bit on a clip shared on X (formerly Twitter) here. 

\xe2\x80\x9cMy work is mediocre\xe2\x80\x9d, if Gary Oldman holds himself to such a standard we can all do better.\n\nOur full chat: https://t.co/wUZ6WFawQb
 —  (@)
        
While Oldman was tough on himself over his portrayal of Sirius Black,  Harry Potter fans thought otherwise. 

@PopCrave Gary Oldman's Sirius Black was still iconic
 —  (@)
        
@PopCrave What? He was one of the best characters
 —  (@)
        
@PopCrave but the thing is that Sirius didn\xe2\x80\x99t know what was coming so why should he have played the character any differently? I think it\xe2\x80\x99s great that he didn\xe2\x80\x99t read the books because what happened to Sirius was just as sudden and unknown to Gary Oldman as it would\xe2\x80\x99ve been to Sirius Black.
 —  (@)
        
@PopCrave If that\xe2\x80\x99s what mediocre looks like, then I\xe2\x80\x99ll settle for mediocre.
 —  (@)
        
@PopCrave Gary Oldman, your honesty is refreshing! Even if you feel that way, your portrayal of Sirius Black left a lasting impact on many fans. Your humility is commendable, but your contribution to the wizarding world was far from mediocre.
 —  (@)
        
@PopCrave IT WAS ANYTHING BUT MEDIOCRE!!!!
 —  (@)
        
@joshuahorowitz Oldman may be the greatest actor of his generation. Nothing he does is mediocre. I\xe2\x80\x99d watch Gary Oldman order off a menu\xe2\x80\xa6
 —  (@)
        
Others gave him props for being honest.

@Variety Respect the honesty
 —  (@)
        
@Variety I like the honesty
 —  (@)
        
@Variety He was as good as the part demanded, nothing more.
 —  (@)
        
@RollingStone To be fair, there aren\xe2\x80\x99t many amazing performances in the franchise.
 —  (@)
        
@PopCrave Appreciate your honesty, Mr. Oldman. Every artist has pieces they're not entirely satisfied with, and yours was still magical for millions.
 —  (@)
        
But the majority were convinced he was still nothing short of brilliant. 

@RollingStone I hate how he sells himself short. The scene where he confronts Peter Pettigrew is fantastic
 —  (@)
        
@PopCrave it's okay cause he still ate\xf0\x9f\xa9\xb7
 —  (@)
        
@PopCrave I'm dreaming in lattes but c'mon Gary, young muggles were looking up at you! Having all the books in your backpack wouldn't make Sirius any less enchanting. For all those spells and charms, you had us bewitched, babe!
 —  (@)
        
@PopCrave Father you were legendary, iconic and THE MOMENT! Amen.
 —  (@)
        
The celebrated actor, known for portraying Count Dracula in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), James "Jim" Gordon in The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005–2012), and Dreyfus in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), said he would take his roles "on the fire and burn it and do it all again."
“It’s like anything. If I sat and watched myself in something and said, ‘My, God, I’m amazing,’ right? That would be a very sad day, because you want to make the next thing better,” said the actor, adding that it was all “so subjective.”
Here is the full episode.

Gary Oldman talks SLOW HORSES, HARRY POTTER, BATMAN I Happy Sad Confused

youtu.be

Despite the criticism of his performances,  Oldman expressed gratitude for his roles in the Harry Potter and Batman films during an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show on December 14.
The roles came amid his 2001 divorce and custody battle with photographer Donya Fiorentino, with whom Oldman had two sons, Gulliver (born in 1997) and Charlie (born in 1999).
“Thank God for ‘Harry Potter.'  I tell you, the two—‘Batman’ and ‘Harry Potter’—really, they saved me, because it meant that I could do the least amount of work for the most amount of money and then be home with the kids," he said.
Oldman has been married five times. He is currently married to writer and art curator Gisele Schmidt, whom he wed in August 2017 in a private ceremony.
He has another son, Alfie,  from a previous marriage when he was married in 1987 to his ex-wife, English actor Lesley Manville.
Oldman and Manville remain friends and through Alfie they have two grandchildren, Matilda and Ozzy.

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Gary Oldman claimed his performance as Pure-Blood wizard Sirius Black in the Harry Potter movies was "mediocre" in an interview.

On the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the 65-year-old Oscar winner said:

“I think my work is mediocre in it."

He continued with a nod to his late co-star Alan Rickman:

“Maybe if I had read [J.K. Rowling’s] books, like Alan, if I got ahead of the curve, if I had known what’s coming, I honestly think I would’ve played it differently."

Gary Oldman says his work as Sirius Black in \xe2\x80\x98Harry Potter\xe2\x80\x99 was \xe2\x80\x9cmediocre\xe2\x80\x9d:\n\n\xe2\x80\x9cI think my work is mediocre in it\xe2\x80\xa6 Maybe if I had read the books\xe2\x80\xa6 if I had got ahead of the curve, if I had known what\xe2\x80\x99s coming, I honestly think I would\xe2\x80\x99ve played it differently.\xe2\x80\x9d
— (@)

You can watch the bit on a clip shared on X (formerly Twitter) here.

\xe2\x80\x9cMy work is mediocre\xe2\x80\x9d, if Gary Oldman holds himself to such a standard we can all do better.\n\nOur full chat: https://t.co/wUZ6WFawQb
— (@)

While Oldman was tough on himself over his portrayal of Sirius Black, Harry Potter fans thought otherwise.

@PopCrave Gary Oldman's Sirius Black was still iconic
— (@)

@PopCrave What? He was one of the best characters
— (@)

@PopCrave but the thing is that Sirius didn\xe2\x80\x99t know what was coming so why should he have played the character any differently? I think it\xe2\x80\x99s great that he didn\xe2\x80\x99t read the books because what happened to Sirius was just as sudden and unknown to Gary Oldman as it would\xe2\x80\x99ve been to Sirius Black.
— (@)

@PopCrave If that\xe2\x80\x99s what mediocre looks like, then I\xe2\x80\x99ll settle for mediocre.
— (@)

@PopCrave Gary Oldman, your honesty is refreshing! Even if you feel that way, your portrayal of Sirius Black left a lasting impact on many fans. Your humility is commendable, but your contribution to the wizarding world was far from mediocre.
— (@)

@PopCrave IT WAS ANYTHING BUT MEDIOCRE!!!!
— (@)

@joshuahorowitz Oldman may be the greatest actor of his generation. Nothing he does is mediocre. I\xe2\x80\x99d watch Gary Oldman order off a menu\xe2\x80\xa6
— (@)

Others gave him props for being honest.

@Variety Respect the honesty
— (@)

@Variety I like the honesty
— (@)

@Variety He was as good as the part demanded, nothing more.
— (@)

@RollingStone To be fair, there aren\xe2\x80\x99t many amazing performances in the franchise.
— (@)

@PopCrave Appreciate your honesty, Mr. Oldman. Every artist has pieces they're not entirely satisfied with, and yours was still magical for millions.
— (@)

But the majority were convinced he was still nothing short of brilliant.

@RollingStone I hate how he sells himself short. The scene where he confronts Peter Pettigrew is fantastic
— (@)

@PopCrave it's okay cause he still ate\xf0\x9f\xa9\xb7
— (@)

@PopCrave I'm dreaming in lattes but c'mon Gary, young muggles were looking up at you! Having all the books in your backpack wouldn't make Sirius any less enchanting. For all those spells and charms, you had us bewitched, babe!
— (@)

@PopCrave Father you were legendary, iconic and THE MOMENT! Amen.
— (@)

The celebrated actor, known for portraying Count Dracula in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), James "Jim" Gordon in The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005–2012), and Dreyfus in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), said he would take his roles "on the fire and burn it and do it all again."

“It’s like anything. If I sat and watched myself in something and said, ‘My, God, I’m amazing,’ right? That would be a very sad day, because you want to make the next thing better,” said the actor, adding that it was all “so subjective.”

Here is the full episode.

Gary Oldman talks SLOW HORSES, HARRY POTTER, BATMAN I Happy Sad Confused youtu.be

Despite the criticism of his performances, Oldman expressed gratitude for his roles in the Harry Potter and Batman films during an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show on December 14.

The roles came amid his 2001 divorce and custody battle with photographer Donya Fiorentino, with whom Oldman had two sons, Gulliver (born in 1997) and Charlie (born in 1999).

“Thank God for ‘Harry Potter.' I tell you, the two—‘Batman’ and ‘Harry Potter’—really, they saved me, because it meant that I could do the least amount of work for the most amount of money and then be home with the kids," he said.

Oldman has been married five times. He is currently married to writer and art curator Gisele Schmidt, whom he wed in August 2017 in a private ceremony.

He has another son, Alfie, from a previous marriage when he was married in 1987 to his ex-wife, English actor Lesley Manville.

Oldman and Manville remain friends and through Alfie they have two grandchildren, Matilda and Ozzy.

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Gary Oldman Drags His 'Mediocre' Performance In The 'Harry Potter' Film Series

The Oscar winner didn't have kind words for his work as Sirius Black in the 'Harry Potter' film series while chatting on the 'Happy Sad Confused' podcast.

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