In 2004, the English actor and Oscar winner Gary Oldman started portraying the character of Sirius Black in the "Harry Potter" film series. Now, over two decades later, he admits that he judges his past works harshly, including his work as Sirius Black.
In the last episode of the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast, Oldman said that he thinks he played the character of Black in a mediocre way, and admits that he could have played him better or differently if he had known what was expected later in the series, like his partner Alan Rickman who played Professor Snape: Maybe if I had read the books like Alan, if I knew what was coming, I really think I would have played it differently," the actor explained.
As mentioned, JK Rowling told Alan Rickman the big secret of his character Severus Snape even before the last books in the series were published, so that he could portray his character in the best possible way.
His role in the "Harry Potter" film series is not the only role that Oldman criticizes: "I think if I were to sit and watch myself in something and say, 'Oh my God, I'm amazing,' that would be a very sad day, because you want to improve the next thing."
The actor made his debut as Sirius Black in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and then reprized the role in two more films before his character was killed off in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in 2007. In a past interview, Oldman once said he was upset that his character was killed too soon. "We all made bets that maybe it's Hagrid, and I was like, 'No, no, no, maybe it's Ron,' and then you open the screenplay and say: 'It's me. I'm out.'"
Earlier this month, the actor told The Drew Barrymore Show that his roles in the Harry Potter films and the Dark Knight film series (as police officer James Gordon) saved him when he became a single father: "I had custody of the boys, and it was difficult because there was a change in the industry and there were a lot of productions abroad, so I turned down a lot of work," he said. "Thank God for Harry Potter. The two - Batman and Harry Potter - really, they saved me, because I could do less work for more money and then be at home with the children."