Gary Oldman Opens Up About Parenting, Harry Potter, and Batman Amid Divorce

Gary Oldman, who is 65 years old, talked about how his roles in the Harry Potter movies and The Dark Knight trilogy helped him during a tough time in his personal life.

Oldman is famous for playing Sirius Black in the Harry Potter films and Jim Gordon in Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies. He shared on The Drew Barrymore Show that in the early 2000s, he started turning down acting opportunities to spend more time with his kids—Alfie (35), Charlie John (24), and Gulliver Flynn (26). He became a single father in 2000 after separating from his third wife, Donya Fiorentino.

Oldman said, “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.”

He has been married five times. His first marriage to Lesley Manville ended in 1989, and his second marriage to Uma Thurman ended in 1992. He shares sons Charlie and Gulliver with his third wife, Donya Fiorentino. Oldman woke up divorced at 42 and had custody of his boys.

During The Drew Barrymore Show, Oldman mentioned the challenges of being a single parent when film productions were happening in various locations. He took 27 round trips between London and Los Angeles during the filming of the Dark Knight trilogy to spend time with his children.

Oldman married his fourth wife, Alexandra Edenborough, in 2008, but they divorced in 2015. He married his current wife, Gisele Schmidt, in 2017.

Even though Oldman is thankful for playing Sirius Black, he recently said on a podcast that he believes his “work is mediocre” in the Potter movies. He admitted that if he had read the books like his late co-star Alan Rickman did, he might have played his role differently.