Gary Oldman has weighed in on HBO’s upcoming “Harry Potter” series, predicting it will surpass the original films he starred in.
The Oscar winner, 66, who portrayed Sirius Black across four Warner Bros. Movies, said that the television adaptation’s faithfulness to J.K. Rowling’s novels gives it a built-in advantage. “We had to cut a lot [for the ‘Harry Potter’ movies], and still we could only get the films down to, like, three hours,” Oldman said, adding that “a lot of character detail was sacrificed” in the compression.
He continued: “I believe [the HBO series is] gonna do it pretty much word-for-word, which I think, as a viewer, would be more satisfying.”
Oldman’s assessment arrives as the HBO project faces sustained pushback from fans over casting decisions and the prospect of revisiting a story told so recently. The series is scheduled to premiere on HBO and HBO Max this Christmas Day.
The “Darkest Hour” star has never been shy about critiquing his own tenure in the franchise. Speaking to the Happy Sad Confused podcast, he delivered a blunt self-appraisal of his performance as Harry’s godfather.
“I think my work is mediocre in it,” Oldman said.
“No, I do. Maybe if I had read the books like Alan [Rickman], if I had got ahead of the curve, if I had known what’s coming, I honestly think I would have played it differently.”
He added: “It’s like anything, if I sat and watched myself in something and said, ‘My god, I’m amazing,’ that would be a very sad day, because you want to make the next thing better.”
Despite his personal dissatisfaction, Oldman has expressed deep gratitude for the franchise’s cultural footprint. He called it “such a phenomenon, the like of which I don’t think you’re ever gonna see again,” and singled out director Chris Columbus for establishing the world and assembling the young cast.
“When you think of that initial cast, someone in the story who doesn’t get a lot of credit anymore is [director] Chris Columbus, who set the world up and cast it,” Oldman said. “We were extraordinarily lucky to have those people come back again, and again, and again, and literally grow into those roles.”
Oldman’s own character proved particularly frustrating for him in terms of screen time. Speaking to IndieWire in 2024, he lamented how briefly Sirius Black appeared across the saga.
“He wasn’t in it enough. He turned up and then he went through the veil,” Oldman said, referencing the character’s death in “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.”
The actor’s filmography spans “The Dark Knight,” “The Fifth Element,” and “Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” but the Potter role remains among his most widely recognized. Sirius Black served as a crucial father figure to the orphaned Harry before his abrupt exit, a narrative choice that still clearly rankles the performer years later.
Oldman’s qualified endorsement of the HBO series—better, but only because of format, not filmmaking quality—adds a notable voice to the ongoing conversation about the reboot. His perspective carries particular weight given his simultaneous affection for and frustration with the original adaptations.
The HBO “Harry Potter” series is set to premiere on Christmas Day.