‘Dark Knight Rises’ star Gary Oldman says Heath Ledger was ‘dazzling,’ great at chess too
This summer’s highly anticipated conclusion to the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises, opens later this month. Gary Oldman will be reunited with Nolan, Christian Bale, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman for the third and final Nolan Batman film.
Thursday Contact Music caught up with the Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy star, who reflected on Dark Knight and offered praise for his late co-star Heath Ledger.
“To watch Heath was dazzling. He had a light around him. I don’t know what it was,” says Oldman.
Ledger, according to the Harry Potter star, had openly revealed aspirations about pursuing directing.
“If he put his mind to anything, I think he could probably. He was thinking of directing.”
Off camera, the 56-year-old star confessed that the late “Brokeback Mountain” star loved chess and defeated Oldman more than once.
“He was a great chess player, too. I played him a couple of times. He always won.”
Oldman returns as Commissioner Gordon in this Batman film as Gotham City now sees the arrival of Catwoman and the terrorist Bane. Rises takes place eight years after the fall of Harvey Dent and Bruce Wayne has retired from his role as Batman.
The Robocop reboot is the next project for Oldman, who still maneuvers the Hollywood politics to string one successful film after another.
“You have to have the acceptance of who you are, not worrying about what somebody over there is doing. All that insecurity, ‘he’s better looking’, ‘he’s taller’, ‘he’s better than me’. Thank God all of that has gone,” the Brit added. “You just go, ‘F*** ’em.’ I’m okay. Though awards definitely get you believing it for a while.”
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was Oldman’s first Oscar nomination.
Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Matthew Modine, Josh Pence, Juno Temple, Nestor Carbonell and Joey King also star in Rises.
The Dark Knight Rises arrives in theaters July 20, 2012.
