Gary Oldman Says His Performance as Sirius Black in the HARRY POTTER Films Was "Mediocre"
If you ask any Harry Potter fan what they thought of Gary Oldman in the role of Sirius Black in the films, you will probably get a warm response. He embodied the Azkaban escapee who was once thought of as terrifying, but who then evolved into Harry’s beloved godfather, even uncle of sorts. Sirius linked Harry to his parents in a way his own relatives had never done, giving him the gift of family for the first time since his parents left him as a baby. But it turns out that Oldman thought his performance was only “mediocre.”
In a recent interview with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast (via SFFGazette.com), Oldman explained:
"I think my work is mediocre in it. No, I do. Maybe if I had read the books like Alan [Rickman], if I had got ahead of the curve, if I had known what's coming, I honestly think I would have played it differently. I'll tell you what it is. It's like anything, if I sat and watched myself in something and said, 'My god, I'm amazing,' that would be a very sad day, because you want to make the next thing better."
Oldman is not unique in his position of being an actor who doesn’t like to watch himself onscreen, but it also makes total sense that he would have felt less prepared playing the character if he didn’t read the books, especially with co-stars who had a complete knowledge of the entire story. He should have read the books for his own prep and process, but I’m sure he had a small window of time between accepting the job and stepping in front of the character.
Regardless of the actor’s opinion of his portrayal, he is still beloved by fans of the books and films, and I think that counts for a lot.