Sir Gary Oldman admits being miscast in ‘terrible’ role still haunts him

TV and film icon Sir Gary Oldman didn’t think much of his own performance (Picture: Neil Hanna)

Sir Gary Oldman has opened up about a role that he admits ‘wasn’t his finest hour on stage’.

The Slow Horses actor is rightfully regarded as one of the best actors of his generation, earning acclaim for performances in films including Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Sid and Nancy, Darkest Hour, Léon: The Professional, and many more.

On Wednesday, he appeared at the Edinburgh TV Festival, receiving the global icon award during the event’s 50th anniversary and speaking on stage about his illustrious career.

During his interview with presenter Edith Bowman, which was attended by Metro, he expressed his gratitude for his long-running role as spy boss Jackson Lamb in Slow Horses and chatted about his career successes – while acknowledging that one role was ‘terrible’.

The 68-year-old told the audience about when he came to Scotland 45 years ago to perform with Glasgow’s Citizens Theatre, appearing in productions including Desperado Corner, Massacre at Paris and Chinchilla between 1980 and 1981.

‘I was at the festival with the Glasgow Citz, and I was terrible. I was miscast, not my finest hour on the stage. I learnt not to… I won’t be doing that again,’ he put bluntly, as the audience laughed.

Jackson Lamb is returning to our screens very soon in season 6 of Slow Horses (Picture: Jack English/Apple TV) Sir Gary, who began his acting career in theatre, pictured in the mid-1980s (Picture: Alan Davidson/Shutterstock)

While Sir Gary might not look back on that particular part too fondly, Jackson Lamb is one character he’s happy to rave about till the cows come home – with good reason.

Before the show came along, the actor made several conditions clear about the role that he had in mind – he wanted to play a spy, he didn’t want to wear a wig, he wanted to wear modern clothes, and keep his own accent. And voilà – along came Lamb.

While some might think that the iconic TV character was written with Sir Gary in mind, he believes that it might have been written for his peer Timothy Spall, who’s actually referenced in the book.

‘The description of Lamb in the first book, he says he looks a bit like Tim Spall with bad teeth at that side, and I’ve been trying to look like Tim Spall,’ Sir Gary quipped. 

‘But I got cast, and it was like it fell from the sky at this time in my life. I was ready [for] the challenge of trying something else.’

Slow Horses is coming back very soon for season six, with the huge bombshell that Olivia Cooke is returning as Sid Baker, after being presumed dead in season one.

Sir Gary might have an Oscar to his name for playing Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, but he admitted that even he still gets anxious, questioning whether he’ll ‘be any good’ in new roles.

Nonetheless, that fear dissipates whenever he steps into Jackson Lamb’s shoes.

‘There’s an anxiety that you have going into a project because you’re working with a new director, you’re working with new people. You’re working with new actors. There’s always that feeling of: Will I be any good? Will I pull it off? Can I play the role?’ he shared.

‘You have this sort of low frequency going on of anxiety when you start a new job. With Slow Horses. I haven’t had that feeling for six years, which has been really nice

‘For the last six years, I haven’t had that fear. I mean, fear is good. You can’t let it cripple you. Someone said that you get butterflies in your belly, and with experience you get them to fly in formation.’

Sir Gary’s Slow Horses co-star Jack Lowden has been touted as the next James Bond (Picture: Jack English)

As he picked up his global icon award at Edinburgh TV Festival, awarded to him by the festival’s chair Fatima Salaria, Sir Gary looked back on his upbringing, having pursued acting after leaving school at 16.

‘I’ve been reflecting on how a young boy from southeast London has made his way to this stage. Hard work and commitment to the craft has played its part, yes, and more than my fair share of luck,’ he told the audience in a speech. 

‘I have been exceedingly fortunate to work with some of the best people in the rooms. Countless directors and producers who took chances on me, agents and executives who believed in me, and fellow actors who influenced me. 

‘They taught me and challenged me to be better at the job. And the thousands of crew members whose names audiences may never know, but whose fingerprints are on every frame that I’ve appeared in.’

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