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Gary Oldman Clarifies Harry Potter Comments Where He Called His Acting Mediocre: I

Gary Oldman took the opportunity to clarify his comments about his acting in the “Harry Potter” franchise during the Cannes press conference for his new film, “Parthenope,” on Wednesday.

When asked about a prior comment in which he disses his performance as Sirius Black as “mediocre,” Oldman said he didn’t mean to “disparage anyone out there who are fans of ‘Harry Potter’ and the films and the character who I think is much beloved.”

“What I meant by that is, as any artist or any actor or painter, you are always hypercritical of your own work,” he continued. “If you’re not, and you’re satisfied with what you’re doing, that would be death to me. If I watched a performance of myself and thought, ‘My God, I’m fantastic in this,’ that would be a sad day.”

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He continued, “There was such secrecy that was shrouded around the novels, they were under lock and key. And had I known from the very beginning, if I had read the five books and I had seen the arc of the character, I might have approached it differently. I may have looked at it differently and painted in a different color. So when I started ‘Harry Potter,’ all I had was the book, ‘The Prisoner of Azkaban,’ and that one representation of that man. One book in the library of Sirius Black. And that’s kind of what I meant by it. It’s not me looking at the movie and saying it’s a terrible film or I’m terrible, I just wish it had been under different circumstances. That’s what I meant, not to be rude to any of the people out there who like that film.”

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Oldman plays the American writer John Cheever in Paolo Sorrentino‘s “Parthenope,” which is a love letter to the director’s native Naples. During the press conference, Oldman said “there are a few” similarities between him and Cheever and discussed aging as an actor.

“Age, there’s nothing we can do about it, is there? That’s for sure. But I’m the happiest I’ve been. I think I’m more comfortable now in my own skin than I was when I was younger. I have a terrific family, who are supportive and creative. There was chaos and drama and a lot of pain in my life when I was younger,” he said. “I’ve made it no secret that I used to drink, and I’ve just celebrated 27 years of sobriety. Cheever, my wife actually found a quote where he says, ‘My shaking hand reaches for the phone to ring Alcoholics Anonymous, and instead it reaches the remains of the whiskey, the gin, the vermouth.’ … And I’ve been there. I know what that means. So coming to this role, there were things that I instinctively understood.”

At its premiere on Tuesday night, “Parthenope” received a 9.5-minute standing ovation. “For me, this movie is a celebration of the journey of my life,” Sorrentino said after the applause died down. “I want to thank [Cannes general delegate] Thierry Fremaux for the beginning of my journey in cinema 20 years ago.”

Sorrentino’s film “The Consequences of Love” premiered at Cannes two decades ago, and the Italian auteur has certainly made his mark on the festival since. He won the festival’s jury prize in 2008 for “Il Divo” and the prize of the ecumenical jury in 2011 for “This Must Be the Place.” Sorrentino has now had seven films compete for the prestigious Palme d’Or. In addition to the aforementioned films, Sorrentino’s “The Family Friend” (2006), “The Great Beauty” (2013) and “Youth” (2015) have all played in competition.

“Parthenope” also stars Celeste Della Porta, Stefania Sandrelli, Silvio Orlando, Luisa Ranieri, Peppe Lanzetta and Isabella Ferrari.

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