Gary Oldman Unveils the Secret Behind His 'Dark Knight' Commissioner Gordon

Gary Oldman , the Academy Award-winning actor famous for films like Darkest Hour , Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Fifth Element , had a supporting but memorable role in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy. In the three entries based on the DC superhero Batman, Oldman played Gotham City Police Commissioner Jim Gordon. As iconic as the character is now, it wasn't exactly an easy job for the actor because he was going through some personal issues when he made the first film, Batman Begins . He was inspired by Nolan's direction, but surprisingly, it was also jet lag that made Gordon the strong dramatic force standing between Batman and the chaotic city.

The Slow Horses actor was a guest on the Josh Horowitz podcast, Happy Sad Confused . Oldman spoke about his most important film roles, and some that he doesn't exactly celebrate (like The Fifth Element ). He talked about his performance in Bram Stoker's Dracula and gave a shoutout to the film's writer, James V. Hart, who was in the audience during the podcast.

When it came time to talk about his role as Commissioner Gordon, he said that from the very beginning of the franchise, his intention was to incorporate some realism into the franchise, which had lost some of its credibility back then. Unfortunately, Gordon's conflict was easy to convey because the actor was going through some rough times:

"We went back to the comic books — really going back to [the comics] as Chris wanted to infuse it with some spirit of the comic book, of the original story, and a bit of realism. I think Batman, at that point, had gotten to a point that was really ridiculous.

"You're a policeman who is sort of up against it. Your best efforts can't corral the chaos. There's a world weariness to Jim Gordon. I know things at home are [Oldman moves his hands pointing out that Gordon's situation wasn't the best]."

Gary Oldman Made Sure to Make Gordon's Weariness Real

Gordon has been played by several actors throughout the many iterations of the Batman film franchise . From Ben McKenzie in the TV series Gotham , to Pat Hingle and J.K. Simmons in the Tim Burton and Zack Snyder versions. Nevertheless, Oldman's performance as the ally to the caped crusader is the best by far. As Oldman states, the hassle of being a single dad during the production was the reason why he looked so weary all the time:

"So, for the first Batman, I was living here in Los Angeles. I was a single dad. I didn't really want to leave the kids for too long. But the first Batman was shooting in England, in London, which was doubling as Gotham [City]. I said to Chris, 'Would it be okay if I fly in, I'll shoot, and fly back?' I said, 'If there's anything wrong with the dailies, you'll know where I am, I'll be in the car on my way to the airport, and I'll just turn around and come back.' I think I ended up doing 27 round trips on the first Batman.

"I'd go home for two days, see the kids, fly back, work three days, go home, be home for three days. I'd fly to London and do one shot, then get on the plane the next morning and come back. I'm being somewhat silly, but there's a sort of world weariness to him. And so I embraced that feeling that you have when you're going back and forth and you've been on a long flight. I just thought, 'I can actually use this to my advantage.'"

Source: Happy Sad Confused (via YouTube)