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I like celluloid, I like film, I like the way that when a movie is projected it sort of breathes a little in the gate. That’s the magic of it to me.

Gary Oldman

I had a guitar when I was 6 or 7, a plastic guitar with the Beatles’ faces on it. It would be a collector’s item now. It would fetch a hefty sum, I imagine.
GARY OLDMAN

Collection Guitar Imagination Instrument Musician Old
The great thing about having been in a lot of make-up, and stuff like that, is that when you’re working with someone who’s in it, and you’ve been there and done it, but you’re not in it anymore, you feel so good.
GARY OLDMAN

Feeling Goodness Great Make Up Work Yourself
We’re given a code to live our lives by. We don’t always follow it, but it’s still there.
GARY OLDMAN

Code Follow Live Ourselves
Any actor who tells you that they have become the people they play, unless they’re clearly diagnosed as a schizophrenic, is bullshitting you.
GARY OLDMAN

Actor Movie People Play Yourself
I was never really that interested in the punk movement. I was a blues guy: I liked Motown, James Brown.
GARY OLDMAN

Interest Myself Preference
The building of America has had its fair share of mistakes, but it’s a constitution that’s the jewel of democracy, the envy of many, and it’s the most generous nation in the world.
GARY OLDMAN

Building Democracy Fair Jewel Mistake Nation Share World
Rather like Batman, I embody the themes of the movie which are the values of family, courage and compassion and a sense of right and wrong, good and bad and justice.
GARY OLDMAN

Bad Family Goodness Justice Movie Myself Theme Value Wrong
How many movies do you see when you can say this director really knew what film he wanted to make? I can count them on the fingers of one hand.
GARY OLDMAN

Director Fingers Hand Movie Myself
Wanting to be a good actor is not good enough. You must want to be a great actor. You just have to have that.
GARY OLDMAN

Actor Enough Goodness Greatness Yourself
My passion and energy get mistaken for anger.
GARY OLDMAN

Angry Energy Mistake Passion
My favorite meal would have to be good old-fashioned eggs, over easy, with bacon. Many others, but you can’t beat that on a Sunday morning, especially with a cup of tea.
GARY OLDMAN

Fashion Food Goodness Morning Myself Old Tea
The thing a drama school can’t give you is instinct. It can sharpen instinct but that can’t be taught, and you have to have intuition. It’s an essential ingredient.
GARY OLDMAN

Drama Essential Intuition School Sharp Yourself
Growing up in a particular neighborhood, growing up in a working-class family, not having much money, all of those things fire you and can give you an edge, can give you an anger.
GARY OLDMAN

Angry Class Family Growth Work Yourself
On set I keep myself to myself; I’d rather the director speak up. I’m not gonna direct a younger actor. I think the power of example works best, actually.
GARY OLDMAN

Best Director Example Power Talk Work Young
People who know me , they know I have a sense of humor, I’m a bit of a joker, a bit of a clown really, and I would love someone to exploit that side of me and send me a romantic comedy.
GARY OLDMAN

Comedy Exploitation Humor Love Myself People Romance
My big love was the Beatles. I was more into music.
GARY OLDMAN

Big Love Music Myself
You choose your friends by their character and your socks by their color.
GARY OLDMAN

Character Choice Color Friendship Yourself
The industry has changed. Two years ago I could tell a company I’ve got Russell Crowe and that would get the film made. Now they’d ask ‘And who’s the girl?’ Just one famous face isn’t enough any more.
GARY OLDMAN

Change Company Creation Enough Face Famous Industry Movie Myself
I took a bit of a back seat, I had kids and I wanted to focus on them. There’s that period in the late ’90s, the early 2000s, where I didn’t do a great deal.
GARY OLDMAN

Children Deal Focus Greatness Myself Period Time
I drank for about 25 years getting over the loss of my father, and I took the anger out on myself. I did a good job at beating myself up sometimes.
GARY OLDMAN

Father Goodness Job Loss Myself Time
I went and lived in Chicago for a year , and I studied at the police academy.
GARY OLDMAN

Academy Live Myself Place Police Study
People imagine that actors are being offered everything and you are not. So things come in and sometimes there are things that I want and can’t get a meeting on, or go to a different actors.
GARY OLDMAN

Actor Different Imagination Offering People Yourself
You take what you know, and you put it through your own prism. If I play characters that break down or cry, it’s Gary Oldman crying; it’s not the character crying.
GARY OLDMAN

Break Character Cry Knowledge Prism Yourself
Each role you play, they set a bar of challenges that you meet. And in the past, I’ve played characters that emotionally expressed themselves a bit more in a physical way. It was a joy, actually.
GARY OLDMAN

Bar Challenge Emotional Expression Happiness Joy Myself Play Role
Speaking very generally, I find that women are spiritually, emotionally, and often physically stronger than men.
GARY OLDMAN

Man Myself Physical Spiritually Strong Woman
Getting sober was one of the three pivotal events in my life, along with becoming an actor and having a child. Of the three, finding my sobriety was the hardest thing.
GARY OLDMAN

Children Hard Important Life Myself Sober
Being a good director is knowing sometimes when not to say something.
GARY OLDMAN

Director Goodness Silence Time

I like celluloid, I like film, I like the way that when a movie is projected it sort of breathes a little in the gate. That’s the magic of it to me.

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I like celluloid, I like film, I like the way that when a movie is projected it sort of breathes a little in the gate. That’s the magic of it to me.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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