It seems that Hollywood is finally starting to wise up to a little fact that moviegoers have known for quite a while; Gary Oldman is simply put, a badass.
Oldman has already taken up some iconic roles with films like The Fifth Element, Leon: The Professional, and Nolan’s Batman flicks to name a few. However it seems like his newest role as an M16 espionage specialist in Thomas Alfredson’s new Cold War drama, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, is generating quite a bit of awards buzz, as well as putting him in high demand for some studios.
According to Deadline one such studios, Warner Bros., is now linking Oldman to two of their upcoming 2013 releases. The first, will be alongside Helena Bonham Carter and Garrett Hedlund as the rugged Colonel Shikishima in the perhaps inescapably Americanized retelling of the classic Anime/Manga, Akira. More recently, Oldman has also signed on for perhaps an even more iconic role as Merlin for Dave Dobkin’s film, Arthur & Lancelot.
Now I can’t personally speak as to whether or not Oldman will finally grab himself that ever elusive Oscar, after all, I still have yet to see Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. However if this win does actually come to pass, I am predicting dark times in the future for Mr. Oldman. More often than not we see actors follow up award-winning performances with a slew of terrible films that aren’t even worth their weight in 1’s and 0’s (Remember Jamie Fox’s and Halle Berry’s careers after their wins?). Akira has just about every fandom nerd worried and has been teetering on the edge of disaster for years now. Then you have this other film, Arthur & Lancelot, which if David Dobkin’s last 3 films are any indication, will be yet another piece of comedy drivel that fails to hit home.
I will try though to stay the optimist and hope for nothing but the best from Oldman in the upcoming years. He’s proven his worth time and time again, so perhaps he can find it himself to conjure enough of that special something of his to keep these Warner Bros. projects from collapsing in on themselves.
