Actor Gary Oldman has recently expressed dissatisfaction with his performances in the Harry Potter film franchise.
Known for his portrayal of Sirius Black in four of the eight movies, Oldman admitted, “I think my work is mediocre in it.”
In a candid interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, when questioned by Josh Horowitz about this critique, Oldman stood by his statement, suggesting that reading the books beforehand, like co-star Alan Rickman did, might have led to a different approach.
Rickman, who played Professor Severus Snape, was privy to his character’s fate early on, a privilege that Oldman believes could have influenced his own performance.
However, Oldman’s self-criticism extends beyond Harry Potter to his past work in general.
He expressed a desire to burn it all and start anew, emphasizing the subjective nature of evaluating one’s performances.
Despite being critical of his own work, Oldman sees this level of “nitpicking” as healthy but warns against letting it debilitate oneself.
During the interview, Oldman also shared a humorous anecdote about the challenges of filming a scene by a frozen lake in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Despite the discomfort, he reflected on the experience with laughter, highlighting the lighter side of the actor’s journey in the magical world of Harry Potter.