Last Updated on 2 January 2025
The following list is the Official Definitive Ranked List of Gary Oldman’s best movie roles.
I found 20 different ranked lists online of “best Gary Oldman movies” or “best Gary Oldman performances” and I needed both to get enough quantity. TV show appearances were not referenced enough to include them. Then I pulled them all into Excel and merged them all to get this definitive compilation. See my Methodology page for the research process that was used. Below is a checklist you can print to track which Gary Oldman movies you’ve seen, followed by the ranked list of his best roles, with the links going to the IMDb entries.
- Jim Gordon – Batman Franchise (2005, 2008, 2012)
- Sirius Black – Harry Potter Franchise (2004, 2005, 2007, 2011)
- Stansfield – Léon: The Professional (1994)
- George Smiley – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
- Drexl Spivey – True Romance (1993)
- Dracula – Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
- Sid Vicious – Sid and Nancy (1986)
- Lee Harvey Oswald – JFK (1991)
- Winston Churchill – Darkest Hour (2017)
- Zorg – The Fifth Element (1997)
- Harry Truman – Oppenheimer (2023)
- Dreyfus – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
- Rosencrantz – Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1990)
- Ludwig van Beethoven – Immortal Beloved (1994)
- Jackie – State of Grace (1990)
- Ivan Korshunov – Air Force One (1997)
- Herman Mankiewicz – Mank (2020)
- Joe Orton – Prick Up Your Ears (1987)
- Shelly Runyon – The Contender (2000)
- Carnegie – The Book of Eli (2010)
- Mason Verger – Hannibal (2001)
- Jack Grimaldi – Romeo Is Bleeding (1993)
- Shen – Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)
- Albert Milo – Basquiat (1996)
- Vladislav Dukhovich – The Hitman’s Bodyguard (2017)
- Milton Glenn – Murder in the First (2011)
- Coxy – Meantime (1983)
- Bex – The Firm (1988)
- Dr. Dennett Norton – RoboCop (2014)
- Floyd Banner – Lawless (2012)
- CJCS Charles Donnegan – Hunter Killer (2018)
- Dr. Smith – Lost in Space (1998)
- Bob Cratchit / Marley – A Christmas Carol (2009)
- O.W. Grant – Interstate 60 (2002)
- Quaker Wells – Criminal (2016)
- Emmett Foley – Chattahoochee (1989)
- Jürgen Mossack – The Laundromat (2019)
- Martin – Track 29 (1988)
- Solomon – Red Riding Hood (2011)
- Johnny – We Think the World of You (1988)
- General Mikhail Nesterov – Child 44 (2015)
- Ben Chase – Criminal Law (1988)
- Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale – The Scarlet Letter (1995)
- Nathaniel Shepherd – The Space Between Us (2017)
- Ruber – Quest for Camelot (1998)
- Dr. Tyrone Brower – Crisis (2021)
- Counselor Peyton – Man Down (2015)
- Paul – The Backwoods (2006)
- Rabbi Sendak – The Unborn (2009)
- Buford Dill – Nobody’s Baby (2001)
- Alistair Russell – The Woman in the Window (2021)
- Ezekiel Mannings – The Courier (2019)
- Rolfe – Tiptoes (2002)
- Nicolas Wyatt – Paranoia (2013)
- Tau – Tau (2018)
- Elvis – Guns, Girls and Gambling (2012)
- General Grawl – Planet 51 (2009)
- The Man – Killers Anonymous (2019)
- David – Mary (2019)
- Lynch – Dead Fish (2005)
- Vladislav Dukhovic – Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard (2021)
- William Holtzer – Rain Fall (2009)
- Charlie Strom – Sin (2003)
- John Cheever – Parthenope (2024)
- Pop – Henry & June (1990)
- Daniel – Remembrance (1982)