Acting Style
Oldman was almost immediately typecast as a criminal in his film career. The necessity to express villainous characters in an overtly physical manner led to the cultivation of his 'big' acting style, which hearkened back to his classical theatre training and would become his trademark; this encompassed "playing everything" via layered performances that vivdly express each character's emotions and internal conflicts. While this approach has garnered Oldman much acclaim during his career, it has on occasion led critics to dismiss his performances as overacting of a superfluous nature. Of his acting, Oldman has said, "t's my influence on those roles that probably they feel bigger than life and a little over-the-top. I mean, I do go for it a bit as an actor, I must admit." Oldman's proficiency with accents has been praised, and his on-screen diversity has brought him critical acclaim.
Read more about this topic: Gary Oldman
Famous quotes containing the words acting and/or style:
“I could live without acting.... Acting is a gift I’ve received. And I’m grateful for it and I enjoy it. But it’s not the main point of my life. It never was.”
—Jeanne Moreau (b. 1928)
“The difference between style and taste is never easy to define, but style tends to be centered on the social, and taste upon the individual. Style then works along axes of similarity to identify group membership, to relate to the social order; taste works within style to differentiate and construct the individual. Style speaks about social factors such as class, age, and other more flexible, less definable social formations; taste talks of the individual inflection of the social.”
—John Fiske (b. 1939)