The actor has previously spoken about his battle with alcoholism (Picture: David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Apple)
Gary Oldman has reflected on reaching 25 years of sobriety as he spoke about the most important moment that impacted on his life, admitting he is ‘not sure’ he’d even still be here had he not made the decision to quit drinking.
The Oscar-winning actor has opened up about his battle with alcoholism before, revealing that some of the more terrifying side effects included his tongue turning black and his ‘vodka sweats’.
The star, who stopped drinking in 1997, is now enjoying glowing reviews in TV show Slow Horses, alongside Kristin Scott Thomas, Jack Lowden and Saskia Reeves, which is set to return for its second season next month.
At a roundtable ahead of its broadcast, Oldman told Metro.co.uk and other press: ‘I have recently celebrated 25 years of sobriety. And all the things I’ve enjoyed and had to deal with, good and bad, in that 25 years have been possible because of that, because of sobriety.’
‘I think – not to be overly dramatic – but to be honest with you, I’m not sure I’d even be sitting here [otherwise],’ he added.
The Leon star then mused on how so many other positives had stemmed from his sobriety.
Oldman shared that he wasn’t sure he’d still be ‘sitting here’ if he hadn’t made the decision to stop drinking (Picture: Getty)
‘There are many things: In my late 50s, I met the love of my life, I’ve got grandkids, I witnessed the birth of my kids. I’ve had career highs, career lows. There’s been extraordinary things in my life that are powerful and meaningful and are life changing.
‘But I think sobriety, that moment where I knew that I was done with this, and I’m going to hopefully put it behind me – I think that’s the big one.’
The Oscar winner was last nominated for the leading actor gong in 2021 for his performance as alcoholic writer Herman Mankiewicz in the movie Mank, who won an Oscar with director Orson Welles for the screenplay for seminal film Citizen Kane.
With wife Gisele Schmidt earlier this year (Picture: Ivan Romano/Getty Images)
As Jackson Lamb in hot TV show Slow Horses (Picture: Apple TV+)
Oldman revealed that he saw a lot of similarities in the humour the character uses within the film to what he deployed in his own life.
He revealed to the LA Times: ‘Herman, with that self-effacing humour, he was at lunch, drinking with a friend, who said, “Why don’t you go home sober for once?”
‘And he answered, “What? And have [his wife] Sara throw me out as an impostor?” I did the same thing.’
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The Harry Potter star married his fifth wife, writer and art curator Gisele Schmidt, in 2017. He has previously been wed to Lesley Manville, Uma Thurman, Donya Fiorentino and Alexandra Edenborough.
In Slow Horses, the TV adaptation based on the Slough House novels by Mick Herron, Oldman stars as Jackson Lamb the notorious leader of a dysfunctional team of MI5 agents exiled to the bleak building and assigned the least glamorous of tasks following their previous embarrassing failures.
Slow Horses season two premieres on Apple TV+ on December 2.
Need help?
The NHS recommends Drinkline, the national alcohol helpline. If you’re worried about your own or someone else’s drinking, there is a free helpline you can call in complete confidence. Call 0300 123 1110 (weekdays 9am to 8pm, weekends 11am to 4pm).
Or you can use Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), a free self-help group with a 12-step programme.
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He linked many of his most meaningful moments since, including his marriage, to that decision.
