Oldman says roles saved him as dad
Actor Gary Oldman is praising his appearances in the blockbuster franchises of “Harry Potter” and Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy for saving him in his darkest hour.
The 65-year-old actor — who played Sirius Black in the “Harry Potter” films and Detective Jim Gordon in the “Batman” movies — recently opened up about how those big-time roles helped him professionally and personally.
“At 42 years old, I woke up divorced, and I had custody of (my) boys,” Oldman recently said on “The Drew Barrymore Show” “(T)hat was hard because there was a shift in the industry where a lot of productions were being (filmed) in Hungary, Budapest, Prague, Australia, you know, all of these places. So, I turned down a lot of work.”
As Barrymore explained, production moved to these locations for “tax reasons” that would benefit movie studios’ budgets.
“Thank God for ‘Harry Potter,’ ” Oldman continued. “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.”
The Oscar winner noted that it was very important to him to make sure his two younger children didn’t feel like they were “being brought up by a nanny.” He was so committed to this that he flew back and forth from London to Los Angeles 27 times while filming 2005’s “Batman Begins.”
“I was really not there for (my) first boy, and then I got the opportunity to have these other two kids, and I thought, ‘I’ve now been given a real gift to be the dad I imagined I wanted to be or could be with the first boy, Alfie, I’ve got a chance to repair this
and switch it around,’ ” the actor said of his parenting woes with son Alfie Oldman, whom he shares with actor Lesley Manville.
Oldman also spoke to other changes he made in his life since the birth of his first child that changed his perspective on life. “I’m almost 27 years sober so everything I have today is
... really through sobriety,” he said.
Even with a slew of award nominations and respect from his peers, Oldman thinks his greatest accomplishment is that his children are good. “My kids are not geniuses, but they’re really, really nice people,” he said. “I think they saved my life.”
Diaz defends co-star Foxx:
Cameron Diaz wants everyone to know that her frequent co-star Jamie Foxx is actually a pleasure to work with. Diaz’s reassurance came after several rumors spread online that
Foxx “had a major meltdown” and that he was “pretty unpopular” on the set of the upcoming Netflix film “Back in Action.”
“Jamie is the best, I love that guy so much,” Diaz said on model and actor Molly Sims’ “Lipstick on the Rim” podcast. “He’s such a special person, and he’s so talented, so much fun. I really hate all the things that were being said about our set, which at the time, you want to scream at the top of your lungs like, ‘What are you talking about!’ ”
Dec. 25 birthdays: Actor Hanna Schygulla is 80. Actor Gary Sandy is 78. Singer Barbara Mandrell is 75. Actor Sissy Spacek is 74. Musician Joe Louis Walker is 74. Actor CCH Pounder is 71. Singer Annie Lennox is 69. Actor Klea Scott is 55. Guitarist Noel Hogan is 52. Singer Dido is 52. Singer Mac Powell is 51. Actor Perdita Weeks is 38.