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Film News,

The Establishing Shot: Mr Gary Oldman statement on his Best Actor Oscar nomination for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Few people are more pleased than me to hear, that after a three decades on screen Mr. Gary Oldman has been nominated for his first Oscar. I can't help but recall the brilliant final scene of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy while writing this. And who knows I may even watch the Oscars as they seem to be getting some of it right this year. Here is an excerpt from my review of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy from 8 September 2011.

“But the real surprise of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is Mr Gary Oldman. I think it is generally accepted that he is a living Legend that came up the hard way - on pure talent. And it may be because I have seen him as the reliable sidekick or over the top villain for so long that I have forgotten what a dynamo Gary Oldman is.

Gary Oldman’s George Smiley is a master class in acting. Not only does Oldman chameleon himself into a forgettable every man, as required of a spy as he methodically and cunningly goes about uncovering who the mole might be, but he delivers an understated, subtle yet menacing performance. 

There is a particularly brilliant scene where George Smiley anecdotally recounts a story from his scalp hunting days, when he tried to turn a possible defector. The entire scene is spine tingling not only because of the story but Gary Oldman's delivery is absolutely electric. This must surely be his greatest performance to date and the one that, dare I say it wins him his first Oscar? Yea, that’s right Mr Gary Oldman one of the entertainment worlds brightest lights has not as yet won an Oscar.”

But stacked up against populist favourites George Clooney (The Descendants) and Brad Pitt (Moneyball) - I like Clooney & Pitt as much as the next guy but neither of those performances deserve a nomination, the runaway success of Jean Dujardin (The Artist) and genuinley touching performance from Damian Bichir (A Better Life). It looks like Gary Oldman's battle is still not over.

This is what Mr Oldman had to say:

“This afternoon in Berlin I have learned that I was nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best Actor. You may have heard this before, but it has never been truer than it is for me today, it is extremely humbling, gratifying, and delightful to have your work recognized by the Academy, and to join the celebrated ranks of previous nominees and colleagues. Amazing.” - Gary Oldman, Berlin

The spy thriller features a stellar cast including Gary Oldman, Kathy Burke, Benedict Cumberbatch, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Ciarán Hinds, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Konstantin Khabensky, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Roger Lloyd Pack, and Mark Strong. Directed by Tomas Alfredson ("Let The Right One In") it is a Working Title production for STUDIOCANAL.


Set in the 1970s, TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY finds George Smiley (Gary Oldman), a recently retired MI6 agent, doing his best to adjust to a life outside the secret service. However, when a disgraced agent reappears with information concerning a mole at the heart of the Circus, Smiley is drawn back into the murky field of espionage. Tasked with investigating which of his trusted former colleagues has chosen to betray him and their country, Smiley narrows his search to four suspects - all experienced, urbane, successful agents - but past histories, rivalries and friendships make it far from easy to pinpoint the man who is eating away at the heart of the British establishment.

The screenplay is by Peter Straughan and Bridget O'Connor and the film, which was shot in London, Budapest and Istanbul is produced by Working Title's co-chairmen Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner and Robyn Slovo. The executive producers are Debra Hayward, Liza Chasin, Douglas Urbanski, Peter Morgan, Olivier Courson, Ron Halpern and John le Carré.

TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY will be released on DVD in UK & Ireland on 30 January 2012 through STUDIOCANAL.