Gary Oldman clarifies previous Harry Potter criticism: ‘You are always hypercritical of your own work’

Gary Oldman is backtracking on previous remarks in which he called his Harry Potter performance “mediocre”, clarifying that he hadn’t meant to “be rude” to any fans.

Speaking on Wednesday (22 May) at the Cannes press conference for his new movie Parthenope, Oldman – who was introduced as Sirius Black in the third Harry Potter movie, The Prisoner of Azkaban – was asked about his past criticism of his portrayal.

“What I meant by that is, as any artist or any actor or painter, you are always hypercritical of your own work,” he explained, according to Variety. “If you’re not, and you’re satisfied with what you’re doing, that would be death to me. If I watched a performance of myself and thought, ‘My God, I’m fantastic in this,’ that would be a sad day.”

Oldman, 66, continued: “There was such secrecy that was shrouded around the novels, they were under lock and key. And had I known from the very beginning, if I had read the five books and I had seen the arc of the character, I might have approached it differently. I may have looked at it differently and painted in a different color.”

He shared that when he “started Harry Potter, all I had was the book, The Prisoner of Azkaban, and that one representation of that man. One book in the library of Sirius Black”.

“And that’s kind of what I meant by it. It’s not me looking at the movie and saying it’s a terrible film or I’m terrible, I just wish it had been under different circumstances,” he said. “That’s what I meant, not to be rude to any of the people out there who like that film.”

Last year, during an interview on the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast, Oldman shocked host Josh Horowitz by admitting: “I think my work is mediocre in [Harry Potter].

“Maybe if I had read the books like Alan [Rickman], if I had got ahead of the curve, if I had known what’s coming, I honestly think I would have played it differently.”

In his new movie, Parthenope – which had its world premiere at the film festival on Tuesday – Oldman stars as the late American writer John Cheever.

The fantasy drama, directed by Paolo Sorrentino, also features Italian actors Celeste Dalla Porta, Stefania Sandrelli and Luisa Ranieri.

Discussing the role, Oldman said that he shares a few similarities with Cheever, including his previous struggles with alcoholism.

“I’ve made it no secret that I used to drink, and I’ve just celebrated 27 years of sobriety. Cheever, my wife actually found a quote where he says, ‘My shaking hand reaches for the phone to ring Alcoholics Anonymous, and instead it reaches the remains of the whiskey, the gin, the vermouth.’ … And I’ve been there. I know what that means. So coming to this role, there were things that I instinctively understood.”

If you or someone you know is suffering from alcohol addiction, you can confidentially call the national alcohol helpline Drinkline on 0300 123 1110 or visit the NHS website here for information about the programmes available to you