Gary Oldman to receive Variety Award

actors of his generation.” Oldman’s most recent role is that of Winston Churchill in Joe Wright’s Darkest Hour. The biopic charting Churchill’s appointment as prime minister during the early days of World War II premiered to critical acclaim at the Telluride and Toronto film festivals last month.

Oldman’s portrayal of the British leader was praised by one critic as “one of the greatest performances of his career”. The actor is known to millions around the world for his characterisations of Sirius Black (Harry Potter’s godfather), Commissioner Gordon (Batman’s crime-fighting colleague), Dracula, Beethoven, Pontius Pilate, Lee Harvey Oswald, Joe Orton, and Sid Vicious.

His portrayal of George Smiley in Tomas Alfredson’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy brought him a BAFTA Award, British Independent Film Award, European Film Award, and Academy Award nominations for best actor.

In 2011, he was honoured with the Empire Awards’ Icon Award for Achievement and with a Career Tribute at the Gotham Independent Film Awards. At the 2014 London Critics’ Circle Film Awards, he was given the Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Film.

His acting career began in 1979, and for several years he worked exclusively on stage; from 1985 through 1989, he alternated film work with appearances at London’s Royal Court Theatre. Among his early tele-films were Mike Leigh’s Meantime and the late Alan Clarke’s The Firm. Other film credits include Stephen Frears’ Prick Up Your Ears, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, Oliver Stone’s JFK, Luc Besson’s Leon and The Fifth Element, Air Force One, Hannibal, The Book Of Eli, Child 44, and Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes.

With Douglas Urbanski, Oldman produced the feature Nil By Mouth. The film marked his screenwriting and directing debut, and was selected to world premiere as the Oldman will be given the Variety Award at the British Independent Film Awards in December. At the recent Hollywood Film Awards, he was honoured with a Career Achievement Award. — AP

opening-night film of the 1997 Cannes Film Festival, at which the film’s leading lady, Kathy Burke, won the Best Actress award. Nil By Mouth also won BAFTA’s Alexander Korda Award for Outstanding British Film of the Year.

Oldman and Urbanski’s subsequent

productions include The Contender, starring Joan Allen and Jeff Bridges. The film received two Academy Award, two Golden Globe Award and three Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, including one for Oldman as supporting actor. – Reuters