Gary Oldman thinks he needed a more serious approach to his work as Sirius Black in the Harry Potter films.
"I think my work in it is mediocre," Oldman noted on Thursday's episode of the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast, adding that "maybe if I had read the books" like his late co-star Alan Rickman, he would have felt differently. .
Had he been "ahead of the curve" like Rickman, he said, "had I known what was coming, to be honest, I think I would have played it differently".
Oldman played Black, Potter's long-lost godfather and impersonator who turns out to be the titular prisoner in the third film, 2004's The Prisoner of Azkaban.
But Oldman is self-critical of more than just his role in the Potter films.
"I would put everything in the fire to burn it and do it again," he says of his acting portfolio. This includes his iconic role as Dracula in 1992's Bram Stoker's Dracula, a performance he said he played "like crazy".
However, the Oscar winner said his tendency to "fix" his work is a healthy habit that comes down to wanting to "make the next thing better."
Oldman appeared as Black in four of the eight films in the Potter series based on the books by author JK Rowling, including Azkaban, 2005's Goblet of Fire, 2007's Order of the Phoenix. and briefly in the conclusion of 2011 "Deathly Hallows": Part 2"./BGNES
