Gary Oldman portrait photograph

Along with John Hurt, Gary Oldman visited Cambridge yesterday to open the 2011 Cambridge Film Festival with his starring role in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Even though I work quickly, taking portraits during the middle of a photo call attended by dozens of members of the press is almost impossible, so I was delighted to be able to get about half a minute of Gary Oldman's time during the photo call to take this portrait of him.

Gary Oldman has played so many wonderful roles, with the ones that stick out in my mind being full of explosive energy. Playing George Smiley in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is an enormous departure from those roles, and I loved the anecdote told by director Tomas Alfredson when he introduced the film. One of the scenes that didn't make the final cut was of Gary Oldman as George Smiley cooking eggs at home, wearing an apron: a quiet moment, full of melancholy for the cuckolded spy who's been forced out of his job. Watching the rushes, Gary Oldman turns to Tomas Alfredson and says "to think I used to be Sid Vicious...".