“I was not going to be the poster boy”: Gary Oldman Turned Down One Iconic Star Wars Role That Would’ve Landed Him in Deep Trouble
Gary Oldman is considered to be one of the greatest Hollywood stars. The legendary actor is widely recognized for his significant contributions to the Harry Potter series, the Batman franchise, and various other beloved cult classics and blockbuster films. Oldman’s performances in the wide variety of films he has done just go to show that he can bring his A-game to every project he becomes a part of.
Interestingly, he was offered to be a part of arguably one of the most iconic franchises in the history of cinema, Star Wars. However, he declined the opportunity.
Gary Oldman reveals why he declined the opportunity to be a part of Star Wars
General Grievous is a cult favourite character from the Star Wars franchise. Gary Oldman was cast to voice the character in the 2005 film, Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. Even though he worked with director George Lucas to record lines for the character, he had to drop out because he couldn’t appear in films made outside of the Screen Actor’s Guild. While speaking about it during his appearance on Happy Sad Confused, Oldman stated that he had no interest in breaking the rules of SAG and said:
“I did a voice for Star Wars …was it General Grievous? What happened was something to do with union stuff and non-union stuff. I was not going to be the poster boy for breaking union rules.”
Despite missing out on the opportunity to work on one of the most famous franchises ever, Gary Oldman doesn’t seem too devastated as he could’ve landed in big trouble if he had worked on Star Wars by breaking SAG’s rules.
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Gary Oldman did Harry Potter to make the “most amount of money”
During an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, Gary Oldman revealed how the Harry Potter films became his lifeline. The franchise rescued him during a challenging period of his life when he was single-handedly raising two kids after his divorce. The movie allowed him to make a lot of money while seemingly not being away from his kids so much. He said:
“At 42 years old, I woke up divorced and I had custody of these boys and so that in itself was hard because there was a shift in the industry where a lot of productions were being [filmed in] Hungary, Budapest, Prague, Australia, you know, all of these places… 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.”
Gary Oldman seems to be grateful that he got the opportunity to work in the Harry Potter and Batman films. The movies were not only showcasing his talents in front of the world, but they also helped him raise his kids.
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