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Gary Oldman on The Dark Knight
By Ryan Parsons | Image property of Warner Bros
I'd never gotten to interview Gary Oldman before. The only other press junket he'd ever done in my entire career was Batman Begins, which I missed because of a family obligation. Wasn't even my own family, it was my then marital family. Luckily, he has a big part in the sequel, so he came back to talk about The Dark Knight.
Gary Oldman on The Dark Knight
"I have a confession to make," said Oldman. "I am not a fan of comic books. I was never a comic book kid. The format irritates me. Do I read here? Is that comment his or hers? Then it goes to the next frame and I’m thinking, 'Is he talking to him or her?' It irritates me. I can’t get on with it at all. So I really don’t know much. I know Barbara becomes Batgirl, but we’ll never see that, not in the hands of Chris Nolan, at least."
Actually, Tim Burton has the same problem with comic books, so there is a healthy history of that in the franchise. What may be newer is seeing Oldman as a good guy. He's played many villains to pay the bills for his more artistic, less commercial ventures.
The Dark Knight
"You have to resolve yourself, when you play a good guy, and I’ve wanted to play a good guy for a while. I’ve tried to turn a ship around, and it’s a big ship to turn around. You can’t do it overnight. I just got into this thing of bad guys. I’ve played bad guys because I’ve worked with people who have had less imagination than Christopher Nolan. Chris Nolan saw Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain. It takes someone with great insight to look at that performance, recognize what he is doing, and cast him for The Joker, even though he has never, ever done a performance like that. Less good directors see you in something and say, 'I want that.' Then you turn up and they say, 'No, I just want you to do that thing I saw you do.' So I’ve wanted to play a good guy, but you have to sort of get out of your way when you play a good guy. You can’t do too much. Gordon is the vase, and Batman and The Joker are the flowers."
Perhaps playing the good guy is a tougher job for the actor. "You've got to service what's there on the page. Heath can take those lines and he's got the freedom in the role to just take it places, and I think it also reflects in the way that it's shot. There's an immediacy and a danger in the scenes with Heath. Chris just says, 'You know what? Put it on a Steadicam, put it on a handheld, and let's see what this kid does. Let's just sort of see what he's going to do as The Joker,' and there's this sort of freedom there. You don't have that with Gordon. You're more reigned in, which I like, which think is equally challenging and fun. But you can understand why actors always like the villains and the bad guys rather than the good guys."
Still, in another era, Oldman might have played one of Batman's nemeses. "I wouldn't mind a go at the Riddler. I used to like the Riddler in the TV series. I think it's the suit with the question marks. I think I like the gear."
The Dark Knight opens to theaters on July 18th.
For the trailers, posters, stills and more movie info, go to The
Dark Knight Movie Page.
Ryan Parsons
Sources: Image property of Warner Bros
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