Age: 68
male
Sir Gary Leonard Oldman (born 21 March 1958) is an British-American actor and filmmaker. Regarded as one of the best actors of his generation, he is known for his versatility and intense acting style. He received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and three British Academy Film Awards. His films have grossed over $11 billion worldwide, making him one of the highest-grossing actors to date. Oldman began acting in theatre in 1979 and made his film debut in Remembrance (1982). He continued to follow a stage career in London's Royal Court. He was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, with credits including Cabaret, Romeo and Juliet, Entertaining Mr Sloane, Saved, The Country Wife and Hamlet. He rose to prominence in British film with his portrayals of Sid Vicious in Sid and Nancy (1986), Joe Orton in Prick Up Your Ears (1987) and Rosencrantz in Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1990), while also attracting attention as the leader of a gang of football hooligans in the television film The Firm (1989). Regarded as a member of the "Brit Pack", he achieved greater recognition as a New York gangster in State of Grace (1990), Lee Harvey Oswald in JFK (1991) and Count Dracula in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992). Oldman portrayed the villains in films such as True Romance (1993), The Fifth Element (1997), Air Force One (1997) and The Contender (2000); corrupt DEA agent Norman Stansfield, whom he played in Léon: The Professional (1994), was called one of cinema's best villains. He also played Ludwig van Beethoven in Immortal Beloved (1994). He later appeared in franchise roles such as Sirius Black in the Harry Potter series, James Gordon in The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005–2012) and a human leader, Dreyfus in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014). He won the Academy Award for Best Actor as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour (2017). He was nominated for his portrayals of George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) and Herman J. Mankiewicz in Mank (2020). Oldman was executive producer of films like The Contender, Plunkett & Macleane (1999) and Nil by Mouth (1997), the latter of which he also wrote and directed. He featured in television shows such as Fallen Angels, Tracey Takes On... and Friends, voiced Ignitius and Viktor Reznov, respectively, in The Legend of Spyro and Call of Duty video games and appeared in music videos for David Bowie, Guns N' Roses and Annie Lennox.
Set in the ruthless world of modern corporate power, King Lear follows Lear, an aging and fiercely controlling billionaire CEO who has spent decades building one of the world's most powerful business empires. Believing the time has come to secure his legacy, Lear announces that he will divide control of his company among his three daughters according to how convincingly each can demonstrate her love and loyalty to him. Goneril and Regan eagerly play the game, offering elaborate declarations that satisfy their father's vanity. Cordelia, Lear's youngest and most honest daughter, refuses to turn her love into a performance. Furious, Lear disowns Cordelia and gives her share of the empire to her sisters, setting in motion a brutal struggle for control. As Goneril and Regan consolidate their power, their alliances begin to fracture. Lear discovers that the daughters who promised him everything now consider him an obstacle. Cast out, Lear's anger and humiliation gradually give way to paranoia and madness. Unknown to him, Cordelia has returned in disguise as his Fool, allowing her to remain close to her father and care for him while challenging the delusions that increasingly consume him. Meanwhile, Lear's trusted associate Gloucester suffers a similar betrayal within his own family. His illegitimate son Edmund manipulates him into believing that his loyal legitimate son Edgar is plotting against him, forcing Edgar into exile and allowing Edmund to rise within the corporate hierarchy. As Edmund's ambitions intersect with those of Goneril and Regan, the struggle for Lear's empire becomes increasingly violent and destructive. Albany and Kent begin to recognize the devastating consequences of their family's pursuit of power. Lear's downfall becomes inseparable from the destruction of the empire he built, culminating in a final confrontation that leaves the surviving members of the family forced to reckon with the cost of ambition, betrayal, pride, and misplaced loyalty.
