His smartest hour... when Gary proposed to Gisele

HE recently won the Golden Globe for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in The Darkest Hour.

But 59-year-old Gary Oldman revealed to Jimmy Kimmel that the greatest feat he performed in character was to get his wife Gisele Schmidt to agree to marry him, while in heavy prosthetic make-up.

‘I took her into the map room and as Winston Churchill I said ‘Will you marry me?’ and she said ‘Yes.’”

But there wasn’t much time to celebrate her answer, according to the Academy Award nominee: ‘And then someone said “Hey Gary, we’re ready for you [to shoot your scene].”’

‘So you did not get a chance to consummate as Winston Churchill?’ asked Jimmy, a question which the embarrassed star studiously avoided.

The actor, pictured left in character as Churchill, has enjoyed a successful 30-year career in the industry, but has only ever received one nomination at the Academy Awards.

But it was finally Oldman’s time to shine at the weekend as he bagged a Golden Globe for his role as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour – tipping him for Oscar success.

Receiving a celebratory kiss from Gisele, whom he wed last year, the actor admitted he was ‘very humbled and surprised’.

He then thanked his wife for tolerating his Churchill make-up, and the huge level of commitment necessary for him to embody the character.

‘She told her friends, “I go to bed with Winston Churchill but I wake up with Gary Oldman,’’ he said, before adding, ‘which I suppose is better than the other way around.’