Gary Oldman says he was 'mediocre' in Harry Potter films

Oscar-winner played Sirius Black in the movie franchise.

Gary Oldman thinks his portrayal of framed magician Sirius Black in the Harry Potter franchise is rather less than spellbinding.

Speaking to Josh Horowitz on the latest edition of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the Oscar-winner describes his performance as "mediocre." Oldman also suggests he might have been better in the role if he had been a speedier reader of J.K. Rowling's original books, like his Professor Snape-playing costar Alan Rickman.

Oldman made his debut as Sirius Black in 2004’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. He would go onto reprise the role over the following two installments before his character’s tragic end in 2007’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

"I think my work is mediocre in it," says Oldman. "No, I do. 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 goes on to admit that he often finds fault with his work.

"I'll tell you what it is," he says. "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."

Earlier this month, Oldman expressed gratitude towards both the Harry Potter franchise and Christopher Nolan's trilogy of Batman films, in which he played Commissioner Gordon. During an appearance on The Drew Barrymore show, the British actor explained that he was cast as Sirius Black after becoming a single father.

“At 42 years old, I woke up divorced and I had custody of these boys and so that, in itself, was…" he said. "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.”

As a result, Oldman said he “turned down a lot of work” in order to be with his children. “Thank God for Harry Potter,” he told Drew Barrymore. “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 was appearing on Happy Sad Confused to promote his Apple TV+ spy show Slow Horses, whose third season has just concluded. The actor explains on the podcast that he has already shot season 4 of the series and confirms that he is happy to continue playing the role of the disgusting, but brilliant, spymaster Jackson Lamb for the foreseeable future.

"As long as Apple’s in, I’m in," he says.

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