Lesley Manville and Gary Oldman Were Once Married to Each Other—And Now They’re Both Nominated for Oscars

Awkward run-ins with an ex are a storied human pastime, though they usually occur in less-than-auspicious circumstances, such as the gym or the grocery store. Imagine, instead, seeing your old flame on the red carpet, and in a globally televised ceremony at that, during which you may or may not win a life-changing award, and may or may not secure the most ultimate bragging rights of all time.

Consider Lesley Manville and Gary Oldman, who are about to endure the world’s most high-profile “exes showdown,” when they face off against each other this weekend at the Oscars—both former spouses are nominated, Manville for Best Supporting Actress in Phantom Thread and Oldman for Best Actor in Darkest Hour. So they’re not up against each other technically, but, of course, they are spiritually, for no other reason than the fact that besting an ex always feels good. And because of what their careers and the roles they’re nominated for have come to represent among the nominees and in the state of the industry at large.

Oldman and Manville met while acting at London’s Royal Court Theatre and wed in 1987. By 1989, Oldman had moved on to Hollywood—without Manville and their infant son, Alfie, born only three months before Oldman left the country and his marriage. Oldman would go on to marry four other women, including Uma Thurman, whom he married in 1990, a year after divorcing Manville.

Though she herself has shied away from speaking out publicly about her relationship with Oldman (“I find it vulgar to have my private dirty linen washed in public,” she said in 2016), it’s hard not to see Manville as the underdog in this particular battle of the exes—especially given how the two actors’ careers are typically characterized in the press. (Manville was called “the definition of a late bloomer” in a recent Telegraph profile.) She appeared on stage, screen, and television for decades before becoming a household name in the U.K., working on 11 projects with English director and writer Mike Leigh. Oldman, on the other hand, had an early breakout role in Sid and Nancy in 1986, and after was known as a part of the young, male “Brit Pack” (which included Colin Firth). Later in life, he became more of a big-budget franchise star, playing Sirius Black in the Harry Potter films and James Gordon in The Dark Knight trilogy.

And Oldman and Manville seem to exist on opposite ideological poles, too, both in the roles they’re nominated for and in the political views they’ve expressed, especially in the supercharged climate of #MeToo and Time’s Up. Oldman has been plagued by accusations of spousal abuse from an ex-wife, allegations that came up again this awards season. And he once had to apologize for comments defending fellow actor Mel Gibson’s anti-Semitic and racist remarks, about which he said, “Political correctness is crap.” Manville, on the other hand, has said she has “always had socialist leanings.” And the character she played in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread, Cyril Woodcock, could be described as a power bitch, played with meticulous iciness, that has inspired fans on the Internet who love single Cyril’s anti-romance ethos. Oldman’s portrayal of Winston Churchill, on the other hand, is more traditional Oscar bait, with lots of prosthetics and historical clout.

So here’s where the warring parties stand: Oldman has already won the Best Actor BAFTA, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Manville was nominated but did not win the BAFTA for playing Cyril in Phantom Thread, but the true battleground is (and will always be) the Oscar. The last time a true ex showdown occurred might have been 2010’s Best Director contest, which included Kathryn Bigelow (for The Hurt Locker) and James Cameron (for Avatar), and there are a few similarities: Cameron’s film was also a blockbuster compared to his ex-wife’s, and he also moved on rather quickly from Bigelow, as Oldman did from Manville, after reportedly getting closer to Linda Hamilton during the filming of Terminator 2.

Bigelow won, and made history by becoming the first woman ever to win Best Director at the Oscars. For those of us who are Lesley Manville stans in her own right—even when not compared to Gary “Political Correctness Is Crap” Oldman—her nomination is a triumph already, and a win for her would be an acknowledgment of an actress at the height of her powers. Who will you be rooting for on the big night? And don’t say you can be friends with them both, because you know you always have to pick a side.