“Darkest Hour”: Oldman, Wow, the brightest light

Posted on by Live & Learn

The hours of makeup meant Oldman often arrived on set at 3 a.m. His average day, he estimates, was 19 hours long. By the time the rest of the cast and crew arrived, Oldman was already in character. “Joe never saw me as Gary for three months,” says the actor. “If you’re going to do a part like this, you can’t go in kicking and screaming about the makeup. You’ve got to surrender to it,” Oldman says. “Maybe day 45 you come in, you’re sleep deprived and you’re a bit grumpy. But the fruits of it were such that I could put myself in a frame of mind. Once it was all in, I was in it. I had a ball. My thinking was that if at 65, Churchill could take on Hitler, then I could sit in a makeup chair for three hours.”

– CBS News, from “Gary Oldman on becoming Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour”

Gary Oldman, 59, won best Actor for his performance on the “Darkest Hour”, in addition to winning the honor at the Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards.  If you haven’t seen the flick, it is highly recommended. He (and his make-up) are amazing…

Portraits: Gary Oldman, Winston Churchill and Oldman as Churchill (via National Post)

39 thoughts on ““Darkest Hour”: Oldman, Wow, the brightest light”

  2. 🙂 Gary is very, definitely Very good Actor. Beethoven, psycho in Leon… in one or /two words – thinker, tailored soldier, spy ;D Very good creations.

    2. Looking Very Very forward to see this Creation. Churchill by himself was the Great Guy, mixed with the interpretation of Gary – just waiting to See This Piece.

    1. Yeah – yesterday I did watch the 50 Shades of Grey (so that I guess I’m very not-actualized 😉 Ok – just watched a few scenes of it and just – where all this Fellinis and other guys went?

  5. Believe it or not but I have just ‘re-watched’ his participation on the graham Norton show and laughed myself silly when he danced ‘himself portraying Churchill doing James Brown…. THE film I can’t wait to see (in its original language)

  6. Btw: His quote My thinking was that if at 65, Churchill could take on Hitler, then I could sit in a makeup chair for three hours. chilled me to the bone. In an entirely good way….

  8. Impressive makeup. I always think of the transformation of Ron Perlman in Beauty and the Beast. Kudos to Oldman for his endurance and performance.

      1. Extraordinary acting, David. Yes, I finally got to see it…
        I also watched ‘Unabomber’ recently. We actually watched it over two nights. It was mesmerising! The acting, all told, was brilliant. Thanks for the recommendation.. 🙂

  10. Oldman certainly deserves all the lovely appreciation he received. And, Churchill may have been 65, but he was in rotten shape–as the movie spells out his ridiculous habits. That’s the power of the mind and intellect–what a treasure!

    2. Valerie; this underlines one of my Hero Husband’s saying: Tout est dans la tête – Everything happens in the head (first)….

  14. He (it) was.
    One of those actors who disappears into his roles. If you haven’t seen his version of “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,” put it on your DVD list.

  16. I confess that I didn’t know Gary Oldman in his roles until he was all over the place with his Churchill. Since then I’ve ‘studied’ (a far too big word) this guy a bit and he said some pretty amazing things. I also have seen him in a film a longer while ago. It’s always a special gift to ‘find’ somebody who does a really terrific job and thus gives something to others. It’s already on my ‘must watch’ list since I read the first few articles.

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