Gary Oldman has had lots of great roles during his prolific career. In addition to working on acclaimed prestige films, he's also gotten in on some genre work. That includes his tenure as Commissioner Gordon in Chris Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, which I would assume is the role fans talk to him about the most. But it turns out that honor goes to another franchise role: playing Sirius Black in the Harry Potter movies.
Harry Potter is a beloved global franchise, so perhaps this shouldn't be so surprising. The eight-movie franchise, which is streaming with a Max subscription, features a stellar adult cast, including Oldman. During an interview with ET, he was asked if he gets stopped by fans about Sirius. He responded resoundingly, offering:
Of course! Yes! If I'm presented a photo to sign more often than not it's a Sirius Black picture.
I mean, who doesn't love Harry's godfather? Sirius Black is a fan favorite character, and that popularity extends to the Harry Potter cast. Gary Oldman might have filmed his appearances years ago, but the ongoing popularity of the Wizarding World means there are still fans stopping him and asking for signed pictures of the character.
While reminiscing about this particular role, Oldman lamented that he only appeared in a few Harry Potter movies. Just like in the books, Sirius shows up in The Prisoner of Azkaban, and is killed by Bellatrix Lestrange in Order of the Phoenix. He technically only appeared in four of the movies, and some of those were cameos. He spoke about his abbreviated time as Sirius, offering:
I think I left too early. I arrived late and left too early.
Gary Oldman filmed the Harry Potter movies and Dark Knight trilogy at around the same time, keeping the 67-year-old actor busy playing two beloved heroes of fiction. Oldman shared a fun fan interaction where he combined these two iconic roles. In his words:
A kid once came up to me and said 'What's on the other side of the veil?' Because the way I die I float off through the veil. And I said to him 'Batman.'
Sirius Black's death is one of the most tragic moments in the Harry Potter franchise, especially as he had the potential to become the Boy Who Lived's guardian. Fans have long talked about the veil, and I love that Oldman found a way to shoehorn in Batman when talking about it.
Harry Potter might be one of the best book-to-screen adaptations, but the Dark Knight Trilogy is a universally acclaimed set of superhero movies. Oldman's Gordon is one of the many reasons why they work so well, and he's my favorite live-action version of the character. But you can't deny the staying power of the Wizarding World.
Both Harry Potter and The Dark Knight movies are streaming on HBO Max. We'll just have to wait and see who ends up playing Sirius Black in the developing Harry Potter TV show.
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