Gary Oldman Shocks Fans With Reveal That Blockbuster Movies Saved Him

Although he didn’t give specifics on how his time between the United States and England shook down during The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, the following films in Christopher Nolan’s celebrated trilogy, it would seem likely that the same could be said for Gary Oldman’s travel schedule. Meanwhile, his role as Sirius Black in the Harry Potter franchise launched his career to new heights, gaining an entirely fresh audience.

While an older generation may remember Gary Oldman as Sid Vicious in Alex Cox’s classic drama, Sid and Nancy, Lee Harvey Oswald in Oliver Stone’s JFK, or the titular bloodsucker in Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the actor’s appearance in the Potter films brought his face to a new generation.

It certainly helped that he played one of the most beloved characters in the book series, a somewhat father figure to the orphaned Harry Potter. With Batman Begins arriving one year following his first turn in The Prisoner of Azkaban, it’s easy to see how these money-making films saved Oldman’s career.