Key Insights

• Gary Oldman’s Struggles: The actor faced significant personal challenges, including a divorce and financial difficulties.
• Career Break: Oldman went 23 months without work before landing a pivotal role.
• Unique Role: He played a character that required him to adopt a different voice and persona.
• Industry Realities: The entertainment industry can be unforgiving, requiring actors to adapt to survive.

When most people think about Hollywood’s heaviest hitters, they picture glitz, glam, and smooth sailing on their way to the top. However, this ideal could not be further from the truth for some, as many actors have fallen on hard times while trying to make their mark in a business that’s more likely to chew you up and spit you out than reward you for hard work and perseverance. Take Gary Oldman, for example, the brilliant actor whose performances in films like Dracula, The Dark Knight, Sid and Nancy, and Darkest Hour are legendary. Speaking to an eager crowd for Stellar Bedtime Stories, Oldman recalled more challenging times, telling his host and the audience about one of the lowest points of his career, and the unlikely opportunity that rescued him from the literal trenches.

“I’ll be very honest with you,” Oldman begins. “I was going through a divorce and a nasty thing with a contractor. I was in Hollywood. 42 years old. I was a single dad, and I was broke. Ironically, I was living under the Hollywood sign. I was living in a rental with no furniture. Thank God for IKEA. It was a bit of a rough time.

“On top of that, I hadn’t worked for 23 months or more. Then this film came along. This crazy idea from this director, that I would play a little person, and I would play Matthew McConaughey’s brother. I got locked into it, and had to do a voice because I had to sound like Matthew,” Oldman says while adding a laid-back Southern drawl to his voice.

“I’m on my knees, and I’ve got a hump. Desperate measures. Desperate times.”

Look, everyone’s got to eat; though I wonder how Oldman’s TipToes co-star, Peter Dinklage, felt about Oldman’s role. I’m sure that’s a story for another time. Still, it goes to show that not all actors have it easy as they carve their particular niche in an industry that moves fast. You must be willing to do things that can pay the bills and get you noticed as someone comfortable with doing what it takes to make ends meet and get the job done.