Gary Oldman Critiques His 'Mediocre' Performance as Sirius Black in “Harry Potter” Films

The Oscar winner admitted that he's typically critical of his past performances

Gary Oldman wasn't enchanted by Sirius Black.

The actor, whose Apple TV+ series Slow Horses returned for a third season last month, critiqued his performance as Sirius Black in the Harry Potter franchise on the latest episode of Josh Horowitz's Happy Sad Confused podcast. Oldman, 65, thinks his portrayal of the beloved Harry Potter character was "mediocre," he said.

After telling Horowitz, “I think my work is mediocre in it,” the Oscar winner said he believes he could have performed the role "differently."

Oldman's approach may have been different if he had read J.K. Rowling's original books before starring in the films, as his late costar, Alan Rickman, said.

“Maybe if I had read the books like Alan, if I had got ahead of the curve, if I had known what's coming, I honestly think I would have played it differently," Oldman said on the podcast.

The actor joined the franchise as Sirius Black in 2004's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and reprised the role in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. He also had a cameo in the franchise’s final film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.

Related: 'Harry Potter' Cast: Where Are They Now?

Oldman said he typically critiques his past performances.

"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,” explained Oldman. “Because you want to make the next thing better."

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While the actor isn’t a fan of his performance, he recently shared how appreciative he is of the franchise.

Earlier this month, Oldman told Drew Barrymore in an interview on her eponymous talk show that the Harry Potter franchise and Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy helped his personal life.

Oldman explained to Barrymore, 48, that he had turned down opportunities in order to spend time with his children — Alfie, 35, Charlie John, 24, and Gulliver Flynn, 26 — after becoming a single father in 2000.

Related: Everything to Know About the New 'Harry Potter' TV Series

“Thank God for Harry Potter. I tell you, the two — Batman and Harry Potter — really, they saved me, because it meant that I could do the least amount of work for the most amount of money and then be home with the kids,” Oldman told Barrymore.

“At 42 years old, I woke up divorced and I had custody of these boys and so that, in itself, was... That was hard because there was a shift in the industry where a lot of productions were being [filmed in] — it was Hungary, Budapest, Prague, Australia, you know, all of these places," he continued.

Oldman said he took round trips between the Dark Knight trilogy films production in London and his home in Los Angeles 27 times in order to spend time with his children.

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