“It was absolutely divine”: Despite Being Hypnotized by Hans Zimmer, Gary Oldman Claimed He Still Couldn’t Beat 1 Aspect of His 2011 Thriller
- Gary Oldman reveals that Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy's background score is the closest to his character.
- Oldman described Batman Begins' background score as 'absolute divine'
- The English actor says he'd be happy to do the remaining Slough House books for TV adaptation.
Gary Oldman is regarded as one of the most talented and respected actors and filmmakers in the industry. The English actor is known for his versatile and intense acting style, which over the years has earned him not only the love of the audience but also made him one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. Oldman rose to fame with his portrayal of Sid Vicious in Sid and Nancy, followed by Joe Orton in Prick Up Your Ears and more.
The actor is well regarded for portraying Sirius Black in the Harry Potter film series and was highly appreciated for his work. Oldman has also appeared as James ‘Jim’ Gordon in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins and later returned to reprise the character for the next two installments. In an interview, Gary Oldman recalls his emotional relationship with the background score of his movies.
Gary Oldman describes Hans Zimmer’s background score in Batman Begins as ‘divine’
Actor Gary Oldman, who is gearing up for the fourth series of Slow Horses in September 2024, recently spoke to Kevin McCarthy, where he was asked about his emotional response to seeing his performance from set to score. The actor appreciated the question, stating that it was a very interesting question someone had asked him.
Oldman continued that the background score for 2011’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy movie, directed by Tomas Alfredson, is the closest to the character. Alberto Iglesias gave the music to the movie, which starred the actor alongside Kathy Burk, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hardy, and more. He portrayed the character of George Smiley in the movie and added,
He [Alberto Iglesias] captured something with his score. If I was talented enough to write some music for George Smiley, it would be that score. When I saw Batman for the first time and just thought that it was absolutely divine.
The actor noted that he has used music as inspiration for his character previously, which has always helped him. Hans Zimmer, who is known as one of the Top 100 Living Geniuses was responsible for the background score for Batman Begins.
Oldman played the role of James Gordon in the movie shared on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. He was initially approached to play the villain in the movie, but then he had his agent communicate with Nolan about him growing weary of the villain roles, which is how he ended up playing Jim Gordon. The role that he thought he was up for was Scarecrow, which eventually went to Cillian Murphy.
Gary Oldman says he’d be happy to do all eight books of Slough House
In a recent interview with IndieWire, the English actor played Jackson Lamb, head of Slough House, who is an aging but brilliant spy. He is now gearing for the fourth series to premiere in September, and ahead of the series premiere, the actor shared that he’d be happy to do all eight books. Oldman noted,
If this were to be the last thing I do—and it’s up to Apple whether they keep us on the air, because they write the checks—but if they’re happy to keep us on the air, then I’m very happy to do this and do all eight books. And since we started, Mick Herron has written another one, so who knows? Maybe it’ll be nine books, and I’ll be happy to play Jackson Lamb in all of them.
During the interview, the actor did not forget to praise the writers, adding that they have very good writers and a good writing team headed by Will Smith. He said that after four seasons, not only is Smith very skilled at putting books down to a reasonable length, but he can hear the actor’s voice now during the process of writing.
Gary Oldman mentions that it’s a very lovely and collaborative process, and he couldn’t hope for more nice people to work with. The actor had expressed that he’d be interested in TV if he’s allowed to use his accent, which, fortunately, Jackson Lamb does. He shares that he does put a bit of topspin on it, but it is indeed his accent.
Slow Horses Season 4 premieres on September 4, 2024, on Apple TV+.
