Here are some photos of Gary Oldman leaving BBC Radio Two in London, where he was promoting The Darkest Hour. The Darkest Hour has already won Oldman a SAG Award, a Golden Globe and now an Oscar nomination too. Oldman is thought of as the frontrunner in a meek Best Actor field. No one really thinks Denzel Washington is a contender, Daniel Kaluuya should be a bigger consideration but he just isn’t, and Timothee Chalamet only has a very, very slim chance, if we’re being honest. Oldman’s biggest competition is – in my opinion – Daniel Day Lewis for Phantom Thread. It’s reportedly DDL’s last on-screen role and it would be incredible to see him win an Oscar for his final performance… and reportedly, DDL is amazing in it too.
I know this is not the most important thing, but I don’t think Gary Oldman should win an Oscar for being wildly miscast in the role of Winston Churchill and for sitting there for hours getting hair, makeup and prosthetics. We should be “over” that as a film-watchers and awards-watchers, just as we should be “over” giving people Oscars just for gaining or losing a lot of weight. These are the kinds of blatant, awards-grabby stunts that are widely mocked for good reason. Every time I see a clip of The Darkest Hour, I always think it looks like a spoof of some hodge-podge of awards-baity sh-t (the makeup, the “historical figure,” the over-the-top performance) from a satire about Hollywood. And all I keep thinking of is this: why not hire a f–king actor who looked more like Churchill in the first g–ddamn place?
Of course there are other issues too, which involve Gary Oldman’s personal history and his history of questionable and offensive statements. He has the right to say whatever he wants, of course. It’s a free country. But #NeverForget all of the sh-t he talked in his 2014 Playboy interview, where he called Nancy Pelosi a c-word, defended Mel Gibson’s anti-semitism, claimed people voted for 12 Years a Slave so they wouldn’t look racist and defended homophobic insults.
There’s also the not-so-small matter of Gary Oldman’s own troubling history – in 2001, his then-wife Donya Fiorentino accused him of assaulting her. Her accusation never resulted in an arrest or a conviction, but Donya always maintained that this happened:
“As I picked up the phone to call the police, Gary put his hand on my neck and squeezed. I backed away, with the phone receiver in my hand. I tried to dial 911. Gary grabbed the phone receiver from my hand, and hit me in the face with the telephone receiver three or four times. Both of the children were crying.”
This 2001 accusation has been brought up a handful of times so far during the Oscar season, by Ira Madison III at the Daily Beast, and by several reporters at HuffPo. But nary a mention in the trade papers, and Oldman hasn’t been asked any questions about the 2001 allegation, nor has he even been asked about his very recent political views. And before anyone yells “he shouldn’t have to talk about politics!” – dude, the reason he should be asked is because just a few years ago, he was mouthing off to Playboy and calling Pelosi a c–t.
So what’s the point of all this? I don’t know. I just thought we should talk about it since few other people are discussing it.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Backgrid.
because like casey there is probably someone behind him burying the story
He was asked about MeToo at the Golden Globes backstage. Can’t recall his specific answer but it was fine.
I don’t get why people think the abuse allegation would effect anything. He got full and sole legal and physical custody of his kids after that divorce proceeding. The court was very clear on who they thought was a threat and it wasn’t him. That is bonkers rare and 99% of the general public would consider that the end of discussion. That’s the reality.
The interview though? Gross but, ummm, why would that be a problem for the Academy when they recently nominated Mel Gibson himself for like six Oscars? Seriously.
Imagine that. A wealthy influential man gets custody of his children over his partner who has little or no influence at all. Shocker.
His ex-wife was a drug addict and alcoholic. She OD’d twice in front of the children. They met at AA. They were both hot messes. I think she lost custody of her other child from a different relationship also.
In this case, I don’t think it was his power that got custody. He was just a better choice than her. His two boys do seem to adore him. At least on a few red carpets I saw with them as teenagers and photos of him out and about with his sons. One boy is always very affectionate with him. I hope his politics don’t rub off on them.
@Jayna that doesnt mean the abuse didnt happen.
She was a successful model who had previously been married to director David Fincher and got a pretty hefty sum off of him. Which is not to say that GO wasn’t also an abusive douche, just that she wasn’t poor or powerless…
It was David Fincher she had another child with and lost custody due to her drug use. I believe it was prior to her being with Oldman.
She lost all custody of a daughter as well to another father.
I’m not even making the comment on what happened but if the point is why hasn’t he been asked…well, it’s kind of obvious isn’t it? What can a journalist ask?
“Hey what is your response to the allegation made 17 years ago during a bitter divorce by someone a court of law found so troubling and unreliable they didn’t want her near her own children from either of her marriages?” I mean…you make that work and not have the general public go WTF?
@Valiantly Varnished, I never said it didn’t. My post was addressed to the poster Original Ninja who commented as to why he got custody. I just said it wasn’t because of power. And it’s why she lost custody of her other child also.
I’m not a fan of Gary Oldman. I don’t like him.
The funny thing is that Oldman afaik has good relationships with his first son as well, from his first marriage. He has good relationships with all his 3 children in fact.
Yea this is interesting, especially cause from my experience sons are more protective of there mother then anything else, especially if they think the father was wrong them. Unless he brainwashed them I don’t think they would be so close to him if the abuse happened the way she claims.
Why indeed. Maybe his manager, Douglas Urbanski has a bit of pull and has blocked those enquiries.
Gary is NOT the arty, nurturing father he portrays himself to be. He is extremely sexist and even disrespectful to his male friend’s wives and girlfriends.
I just don’t want him to win because this is the same type of movie that always wins and it would be nice to see a different type of performance win. With the exception of Denzel (who in general I really like), all of the other nominated performances are really different and special. Winston Churchill cosplay is just so blah.
Also, Winston Churchill was an awful person. Like objectively awful and we should really stop celebrating. People will complain about Tonya Harding getting a sympathetic portrayal while Churchill gets lionized in tons of movies.
Yea Churchill wasn’t a *great* guy but you can’t deny his impact on history. Which why he is portrayed the way he is, his impact is incredibly vast. You can’t deny that without Churchill the Nazi potentially could have swept through Britain. Without him Europe would look incredibly different today.
I think it’s pretty ridiculous to say we should stop celebrating the man who ensured Britain’s survival. You can acknowledge his faults as a leader, and disagree with policy but the man’s impact is undeniable.
Yeah I have to co-sign what @DiligentDiva said. Also, I don’t think there is any way you can compare Tonya Harding with Winston Churchill.
FWIW I haven’t watched “I Tonya” yet but I’m not terribly bent out of shape over her getting a sympathetic portrayal in it. It’s distasteful but not dangerous. I’m more bothered by the cast of “I Tonya” celebrating her at awards shows. Once again, not dangerous but really gross given that she has taken no responsibility or shown repentance or growth. She’s gotten a total free pass this awards season.
Ok, but Churchill wasn’t just “not great”. He was practically genocidal. He isn’t singlehandedly responsible for saving Britain but he was responsible for this:
https://jacobinmag.com/2018/01/winston-churchill-british-empire-colonialism/
If you want a tl;dr, he was basically rabidly imperialist and people died because of it.
In an ideal and fair world, Timothee would take that Oscar home—what a beautiful, natural and refreshing performance.
Second that.
It’s actors who determine best actor nominees, so I’m baffled why they so often reward make-up roles instead of subtler performances. Perhaps they find hours in the make-up chair the toughest part of the job.
After hours of Churchill in The Crown, maybe we can have a fallow period for a while. Clearly just cheap prestige filmmaking and award-baiting.
Also, for an alternate take and round-up of Churchill’s less glorious side, there’s this:
https://jacobinmag.com/2018/01/winston-churchill-british-empire-colonialism/
It’s actors who determine the nominees list, but once the nominations are out member of the academy votes from the shortlist for every award
I find it interesting how in the MeToo moment where we talk about believing women and supporting them, when it comes to domestic abuse it’s a different story. Just look at how Johnny Depp is doing just fine after Amber Heard accused him JJust look at this thread and the number of people on it defending Oldman.
Gary has always been a grade A a**hole but that is irrelevant to his oscar nomination, what should really come in is his treatment of women including Donya like CB mentions, despite that he had the legal power to squash her claims, I believe her, he was a violent drunk for many many years. But look at Russell Crow, we forgive again and again.
Now is the time I really really wish Uma would spill, she has serious dirt on him from what the rumours say and the breakdown of their relationship was dramatic and by all accounts involved his abusive behaviour. I think she is actually waiting until the Oscars is over as she does not want to go head to head with it or she will leave Gary out altogether (she has other dirt) as it was a personal not a professional relationship.
I have always found his acting over the top and scene chewing and never understood the ‘finest of his generation’ stuff I am so sick of older men being given this title over and over.
I haven’t forgiven Russell Crowe for *hit. Nor have I forgiven Johhny Depp or Mel Gibson. Hollywood forgives them because they are white men. They continue to give them roles and it’s up to us as moviegoers to be conscious of not giving our dollars to support their films.
Agree, but in the grand scheme is is Hollywood that has to turn their back on them if they are really going to have repercussions. As long as they are given roles people will see their films, the general public does not care enough.
@Emily that’s not how Hollywood ultimately works though. They will give these guys a second chance. But if the films don’t do well they won’t be given a third. Which takes it back to us moviegoers speaking with our dollars.
I think he has addiction issues which he’s tried to deal with over the years. I hope for everyone in his life’s sake, including himself, that he’s in recovery and that it sticks this time. If someone’s in recovery, being accountable for their actions, then honestly I can’t see any good reason that their past should continue to define them.
I don’t care about his opinions on this or that.
Because Oldman’s brand is “troubled genius.” It always has been and people are still suckers for that. He is a brilliant artist and I’m sure a lot of people think it is his ‘turn’ and will absorb his problematic history into the troubled genius narrative. Even though I agree with all of the criticisms of him, I still think he is an extraordinary artist.
Plus, he is the product of an abusive, poor background. He isn’t quite coming from the same place of privilege and that doesn’t fit the power dynamics argument. It’s more complicated and people don’t like complicated.
curious and disturbing so many women in the comments sticking up for Oldman.
We have a long way to go, apparently….
What’s new, Wallaby? I’m tired of their desperation. Not all females are woke… Right, Andrea?
Well the general public and the awards voters are not over those grabby “transformative” in your face performances.
Subtlety is rarely rewarded.
To be frank, everything that seems to annoy you (the make up, the prosthetics, the mannerism) with Oldman’s performance was what annoyed me with Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln.
But in this case, everyone was absolutely enthusiastic, he won. Can’t blame Oldman for taking a page from the same book (if a statuette is important to him that is)
The recipe clearly worked for others , he tried it.
Daniel Day Lewis didn’t gain weight or use prosthetic for Lincoln other than imitate what his voice supposedly sounded like. And no not everyone was excited he won, that should’ve been Joaquin’s but Daniel was a close second.
Don’t ever look a behind the scenes featurette of Lincoln or read any interview from the make up artist detailing all the procedures on Day-Lewis face ( creating the furrows, the lines), it will burst your bubble.
And one of Spielberg talking points was how much effort he put on weight loss to appear as rail thin as the late president.
So Oldman did nothing new but these over the top transformations are hailed when done by a fave, deemed as annoying otherwise.
I think a case like this is more “I don’t what happened” and I don’t usually say this. This one though is incredibly difficult, it is not at all clear-cut as to what happened between him and his ex-wife. On the one hand, you have a wife claiming he was an abusive husband, on the other hand, you have a judge who sided with him and awarded him full custody of his children. And I don’t buy at all that judge does that just cause someone’s powerful, if that was the case Woody Allen would have got full custody of his children. I just don’t believe at all a judge would put a child into an abusive home. Clearly the judge thought Gary Oldman was the best place for his children to be. Which says something.
That being said just because Gary Oldman did get custody of his kids doesn’t mean the abuse didn’t happen, or that it negates it. But again it’s is incredibly hard to trust the word of someone who was on drugs at the time of accusation.
Yeah, i saw a commenter, I think it was bearcatlawyer, say she is a divorce lawyer, and she sees a lot of women lodge abuse complaints during divorce proceedings. And she thinks they do it to get more alimony, spousal support, etc.
It really affected me that she as a lawyer said that as that was why I divorced. I was not lying about my abuse. But I knew the police, legal system, the idea that we should believe women is ludicrous – all of that would be stacked against me.
86% of women in jail are women are sexual assault survivors. No one believed them either, probably because they weren’t perfect victims either.
So, I believe oldman abused her, and I don’t believe the courts always get it right as regards to custody or who has the better character.
The guy’s a jerk. He’s a great actor, however, and that’s really the only thing that should matter when it comes to awards. Greta Gerwig certainly seems like a jerk for what she did to Jennifer Jason Leigh, but that shouldn’t affect her Oscar chances either. It should be about the work.
Kaiser, girl, THANK YOU for talking about it. He needs to be called out. Ain’t nothing wrong with being a conservative person, but there is PLENTY wrong with being a misogynistic, racists douchebag.
Sorry but I do think Timothée Chalamet is the real competition he has for that Oscar. He is AMAZING in “Call me by your name” and I’m really tired of Academy giving awards to actors who play real people with the help of prosthetics. Not that I’m saying that he’s not deserving but Timothée is a breath of fresh air in a category that is filled with the same actors we’ve seen for decades. You go Timothée!
Man… I feel like I’m the only person alive that didn’t like Call me by your name and was thoroughly bored watching it… :-/
“sitting there for hours getting hair, makeup and prosthetics. We should be “over” that as a film-watchers and awards-watchers, just as we should be “over” giving people Oscars just for gaining or losing a lot of weight.”
But it’s great that DDL spent time learning to sew for Phantom Thread, insists on being called by his character’s name when they’re not filming, and refused to meet his leading lady before their scene because that would spoil his performance of the first time the characters meet? Because that’s what I’m over.
and all said and done DDL has the better performance, so maybe oldman should’ve gained 200 lbs to give a better one
“And all I keep thinking of is this: why not hire a f–king actor who looked more like Churchill in the first g–ddamn place?” Now I keep thinking why do we have to have actors look literally like the character, and just not act like them. Why couldn’t Denzel Washington be Churchill? Most people don’t remember what they looked like anyway. Why do we think if you look like them that this is great acting is beyond me too, seems like this should be great makeup. Now, I saw the Post the other day, and I knew Katherine Graham. Meryl Streep is a great actress, but she didn’t remind me of how Mrs. Graham acted. Of course I knew Mrs. Graham in the 90’s not the 70’s and that could have been it. Still Tom Hanks reminded me so much of Ben Bradlee, it creeped me out a bit. Even though Meryl wasn’t exactly like I remember Mrs. Graham and Tom Hanks was a bit too much it didn’t change my enjoyment of the film.
That is really interesting, thank you for sharing it. Lately I’ve been assuming that based on a true story is really just inspired by one. I’m excited to know I’ll get to see what Bradlee was really like.
I totally agree – why didn’t they cast someone who looks like Churchill? I’m sure there are loads of amazing theater actors / character actors that could do an amazing job and then one could really get lost in the performance and movie. I believe I would be distracted the whole time because all I can see when I watch the trailers is Mike Myers in makeup. Watch the trailer and think Mike Meyers – and that’s all you’ll see!
He has more high powered connections. Another example of selective morality among the nations most influential people.
It’s called “best” acting but usually that equates to “most” acting. They want to see the effort. They want transformation! They want narratives! Going ugly, using a different accent, gaining weight, learning to play the piano, eating live scorpions while balancing on your head at the foot of Mount Everest … blah blah. Tropic Thunder is real.
As for Oldman… Yes reporters should, at the very least, be asking him these questions. Then we can see what he says. They shouldn’t bow to studio PR like they did last year with Affleck.
i am surprised his push is actually working. I’ve never seen a less humble, ‘this is my turn’ grab for a Oscar in my life. Usually that’s puts people off. Would love to see DDL win.