“I thought it sounded fantastic”: Gary Oldman Nearly Bowed Out of Christopher Nolan’s $373M Batman Begins for His Iconic Past Roles Despite Calling His Vision Perfect

“I thought it sounded fantastic”: Gary Oldman Nearly Bowed Out of Christopher Nolan’s $373M Batman Begins for His Iconic Past Roles Despite Calling His Vision Perfect
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Gary Oldman played the role of James Gordon in the movie Batman Begins. Oldman’s character James Gordon was one of the significant characters in the film but the interesting fact is that he chose the role for himself in the movie. 

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Gary oldman as James Gordon
Gary oldman as James Gordon

During an interview, while talking about his movie Batman Begin, Oldman explained that the director of the movie Christopher Nolan had different plans for the 65-year-old actor. Nolan wanted Oldman to be on the evil side of the film, but the Darkest Hour actor wanted something else. 

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Gary Oldman explained why he didn’t want to play the bad guy in the movie Batman Begins 

Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon
Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon

Legendary actor Gary Oldman knows how to ace a character. He is still remembered for playing the role of Commissioner Jim in Batman Begins. The 65-year-old actor’s character James Gordon trusts Batman and is somewhere dependent on the protagonist of the film. Oldman wasn’t offered the role by Christopher Nolan. The 52-year-old director imagined the Slow Horses actor playing the villain but Oldman said no to the offer. While talking about why he didn’t want to be the bad guy in the action fantasy movie, the actor said,

“Chris admired and was a fan of the comic and the original conception of Batman, which was darker. So that was basically the pitch; he was saying, ‘I’m going to reinterpret it, I’m going to try and base it more in reality, there will be explanations.’ I thought it sounded fantastic.”

He further added,

Then they came in with a villain. And I was at that point where you say, “Oh. I can’t do that anymore”. I really felt I’d played all the notes that I could in terms of villains.” 

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After thinking a lot about which character he would want to play, he suggested to his manager the character of James Gordon. Oldman himself asked the makers if he can play the role of Jim in the movie. The Inception director also thought it was an interesting idea to let the Hannibal actor play the role of the Commissioner.

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Gary Oldman will be seen next in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer

Gary Oldman at an event
Gary Oldman at an event

Some of the biggest names in Hollywood will be seen in Nolan’s next movie Oppenheimer. Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr. Florence Pugh, Matt Damon, and Emily Blunt will come together to tell the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer the creator of the atomic bomb. Oldman will be seen playing the role of Harry Truman in the movie. During an interview, the Leon actor revealed that he will be filming for the movie in May and has a short scene in the movie. Fans are already excited about the movie as it will be hitting the big screen on 21 July 2023. 

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Source: Collider; Looper

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Written by Umeza Peera

Articles Published: 289

Umeza Peera is a pop culture junkie and works as Content writer for Fandom Wire. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature and Philosophy. Umeza has been writing for three years. She enjoys writing relatable stories that would connect with people