During an interview on The Drew Barrymore Show, Oldman talked about how the franchise films came at the right time and saved his career.
Thank God for Harry Potter. Those two movies, Batman and Harry Potter, really saved me because it meant I could do the least amount of work for the most money and be home with the kids.
Oldman is known for his work in both franchises: he played the role of Sirius Black in the Harry Potter films and Commissioner Gordon in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy.
Of course, he became a screen legend long before that, starring in films such as Leon, The Fifth Element and others. However, it was these franchise films that gave him the stability he needed most, at the exact time he needed it.
“At 42, I woke up divorced and had custody of these boys,” he explained. Oldman divorced his then-wife, American model Donia Fiorentino, in 2001 and was awarded custody of their children.
That in itself was… it was hard because there was a shift in the industry and a lot of films were being shot in Hungary, Budapest, Prague, Australia, you know, all these places. So I turned down a lot of jobs.
Oldman preferred to stay as close to home as possible to raise his children, and it appears that flying between Los Angeles and London for the Harry Potter films and The Dark Knight trilogy allowed him to do just that. The salary wasn’t bad either.
The Harry Potter films were a huge success, and after his debut as Sirius Black in Prisoner of Azkaban, Oldman starred in several more.
When it comes to the Dark Knight films, he played the iconic Commissioner Gordon in all three films and is loved by Batman fans for his performance.
