Cover of the first English edition of Benjamin Franklin's autobiography, 1793

An autobiography (from the Greek, αὐτός-autos self + βίος-bios life + γράφειν-graphein to write) is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.

Origin of the term[link]

The word autobiography was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English periodical the Monthly Review, when he suggested the word as a hybrid but condemned it as 'pedantic'; but its next recorded use was in its present sense by Robert Southey in 1809.^[1] The form of autobiography however goes back to antiquity. Biographers generally rely on a wide variety of documents and viewpoints; an autobiography, however, may be based entirely on the writer's memory. Closely associated with autobiography (and sometimes difficult to precisely distinguish from it) is the form of memoir.

See also: List of autobiographies and Category:Autobiographies for examples.

Autobiography through the ages[link]

The classical period: Apologia, oration, confession[link]

In antiquity such works were typically entitled apologia, purporting to be self-justification rather than self-documentation. John Henry Newman's autobiography (first published in 1864) is entitled Apologia Pro Vita Sua in reference to this tradition.

The pagan rhetor Libanius (c. 314–394) framed his life memoir (Oration I begun in 374) as one of his orations, not of a public kind, but of a literary kind that could be read aloud in privacy.

Augustine (354–430) applied the title Confessions to his autobiographical work, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau used the same title in the 18th century, initiating the chain of confessional and sometimes racy and highly self-critical, autobiographies of the Romantic era and beyond.

In the spirit of Augustine's Confessions is the 12th-century Historia Calamitatum of Peter Abelard, outstanding as an autobiographical document of its period. The first autobiographical work in Islamic society was written in the late 11th century, by Abdallah ibn Buluggin, last Zirid king of Granada.

Early autobiographies[link]

A scene from the Baburnama.

In the 15th century, Leonor López de Córdoba, a Spanish noblewoman, wrote her Memorias, which may be the first autobiography in Castillian.

Zāhir ud-Dīn Mohammad Bābur,who founded the Mughal dynasty of South Asia kept a journal Bāburnāma (Chagatai/Persian: بابر نامہ‎; literally: "Book of Babur" or "Letters of Babur") which was written between 1493 and 1529.

One of the first great autobiographies of the Renaissance is that of the sculptor and goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini (1500–1571), written between 1556 and 1558, and entitled by him simply Vita (Italian: Life). He declares at the start: "No matter what sort he is, everyone who has to his credit what are or really seem great achievements, if he cares for truth and goodness, ought to write the story of his own life in his own hand; but no one should venture on such a splendid undertaking before he is over forty."^[2] These criteria for autobiography generally persisted until recent times, and most serious autobiographies of the next three hundred years conformed to them.

Another autobiography of the period is De vita propria, by the Italian physician and astrologer Gerolamo Cardano (1574).

The earliest known autobiography in English is the early 15th-century Booke of Margery Kempe, describing among other things her pilgrimage to the Holy Land and visit to Rome. The book remained in manuscript and was not published until 1936.

Notable English autobiographies of the 17th century include those of Lord Herbert of Cherbury (1643, published 1764) and John Bunyan (Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, 1666).

Memoirs[link]

A memoir is slightly different in character from an autobiography. While an autobiography typically focuses on the "life and times" of the writer, a memoir has a narrower, more intimate focus on his or her own memories, feelings and emotions. Memoirs have often been written by politicians or military leaders as a way to record and publish an account of their public exploits. One early example is that of Leonor López de Córdoba (1362–1420) who wrote what is supposed to be the first autobiography in Spanish. The English Civil War (1642–1651) provoked a number of examples of this genre, including works by Sir Edmund Ludlow and Sir John Reresby. French examples from the same period include the memoirs of Cardinal de Retz (1614–1679) and the Duc de Saint-Simon 2001/2010.

18th and 19th centuries[link]

Notable 18th-century autobiographies in English include those of Edward Gibbon and Benjamin Franklin. Following the trend of Romanticism, which greatly emphasised the role and the nature of the individual, and in the footsteps of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Confessions, a more intimate form of autobiography, exploring the subject's emotions, came into fashion. An English example is William Hazlitt's Liber Amoris (1823), a painful examination of the writer's love-life.

With the rise of education, cheap newspapers and cheap printing, modern concepts of fame and celebrity began to develop, and the beneficiaries of this were not slow to cash in on this by producing autobiographies. It became the expectation—rather than the exception—that those in the public eye should write about themselves—not only writers such as Charles Dickens (who also incorporated autobiographical elements in his novels) and Anthony Trollope, but also politicians (e.g. Henry Brooks Adams), philosophers (e.g. John Stuart Mill), churchmen such as Cardinal Newman, and entertainers such as P. T. Barnum. Increasingly, in accordance with romantic taste, these accounts also began to deal, amongst other topics, with aspects of childhood and upbringing—far removed from the principles of "Cellinian" autobiography.

Nature of autobiography[link]

Autobiographical works are by nature subjective. The inability—or unwillingness—of the author to accurately recall memories has in certain cases resulted in misleading or incorrect information. Some sociologists and psychologists have noted that autobiography offers the author the ability to recreate history.^[3]

Versions of the autobiography form[link]

Autobiographies as critiques of totalitarianism[link]

Victims and opponents of totalitarian regimes have been able to present striking critiques of these regimes through autobiographical accounts of their oppression. Among the more renowned of such works are the writings of Primo Levi, one of many personal accounts of the Shoah. Similarly, there are many works detailing atrocities and malevolence of Communist regimes (e.g., Nadezhda Mandelstam's Hope against Hope).

Sensationalist and celebrity "autobiographies"[link]

From the 17th century onwards, "scandalous memoirs" by supposed libertines, serving a public taste for titillation, have been frequently published. Typically pseudonymous, they were (and are) largely works of fiction written by ghostwriters.

So-called "autobiographies" of modern professional athletes and media celebrities—and to a lesser extent about politicians, generally written by a ghostwriter, are routinely published. Some celebrities, such as Naomi Campbell, admit to not having read their "autobiographies".^{[citation needed]}

Autobiographies of the non-famous[link]

Until recent years, few people without some genuine claim to fame wrote or published autobiographies for the general public. With the critical and commercial success in the United States of such memoirs as Angela’s Ashes and The Color of Water, however, more and more people have been encouraged to try their hand at this genre.

Fake autobiographies[link]

This trend has also encouraged fake autobiographies, particularly those associated with 'misery lit,' where the writer has allegedly suffered from being a part of a dysfunctional family, or from social problems, or political repression. A notorious recent example is Fragments (1995) by 'Binjamin Wilkomirski'(Bruno Grosjean).

Fictional autobiography[link]

The term "fictional autobiography" has been coined to define novels about a fictional character written as though the character were writing their own biography, of which Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders, is an early example. Charles Dickens' David Copperfield is another such classic, and J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye is a well-known modern example of fictional autobiography. Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre is yet another example of fictional autobiography, as noted on the front page of the original version. The term may also apply to works of fiction purporting to be autobiographies of real characters, e.g., Robert Nye's Memoirs of Lord Byron.

See also[link]

Biography portal

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Autobiography

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Barros, Carolyn (1998). Autobiography: Narrative of Transformation. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. 
• Buckley, Jerome Hamilton (1994). The Turning Key: Autobiography and the Subjective Impulse Since 1800. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 
• Lejeune, Philippe (1989). On Autobiography. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. 
• Olney, James (1998). Memory & Narrative: The Weave of Life-Writing. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. 
• Pascal, Roy (1960). Design and Truth in Autobiography. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 
• Reynolds, Dwight F., ed. (2001). Interpreting the Self: Autobiography in the Arabic Literary Tradition. Berkeley: University of California Press. 
• Wu, Pey-Yi (1990). The Confucian's Progress: Autobiographical Writings in Traditional China. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 

Nicki Minaj
Minaj at 2010 MTV Music Awards
Background information
Birth name	Onika Tanya Maraj
Born	(1982-12-08) December 8, 1982 (age 29)[1] Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago
Origin	South Jamaica, Queens, New York, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop, R&B, pop
Occupations	Rapper, singer-songwriter
Years active	2002–present
Labels	Cash Money Records, Young Money Entertainment, Universal Republic Records, Universal Motown
Associated acts	Young Money
Website	mypinkfriday.com

Onika Tanya Maraj (born December 8, 1982), known by her stage name Nicki Minaj ( /mɪˈnɑːʒ/), is a Trinidadian-born American rapper and singer-songwriter. She was born in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago and when she was 5 years of age she moved to the New York City borough of Queens, where she grew up.

After releasing three mixtapes between 2007 and 2009 and being signed to Young Money Entertainment in August 2009, Minaj released her debut album, Pink Friday, in November 2010. It quickly became a commercial success, peaking at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and being certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) a month after its release.^[2][3] She became the first female solo artist to have seven singles on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time.^[4] Her second single, "Your Love", reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart, making Minaj the first female artist to top the chart unaccompanied since 2002.^[5] She also became the first female artist to be included on MTV's Annual Hottest MC List.^[6] Minaj was named the 2011 Rising Star by Billboard.^[7] Her second studio album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded was released on April 3, 2012.

Early life[link]

Maraj was born in 1982^{[1][note 1]} in Saint James, a suburb of Trinidad and Tobago's capital city Port of Spain.^[8][9][10] Her parents are of mixed Indian and Afro-Trinidadian ancestry^[11][12] and she lived in Saint James with her grandmother until age five, because her parents were looking for a place to live in the Queens borough of New York City at the time. Her mother would occasionally visit, and one day, when Minaj was five, her mother picked her up to move to Queens.^[13] According to Minaj, her father drank heavily, took drugs, and once tried to kill her mother by setting the house on fire.^[14]

She attended Elizabeth Blackwell Middle School 210, where she played the clarinet.^[13] She graduated from LaGuardia High School.^[15][16] At LaGuardia, a school specializing in music and the visual and performing arts, Minaj participated in the drama program.^[15] She had initially planned to sing at LaGuardia but lost her voice on the day of the audition.^[15]

Career[link]

2007–09: Mixtapes and Young Money[link]

Minaj released her first mixtape in 2007 after releasing Playtime Is Over with Dirty Money Records. She released another mixtape on July 7, 2008, titled Sucka Free, under the label Be. On April 18, 2009, Minaj released a third mixtape and appeared in XXL magazine.^[17] She won the Female Artist of the Year award at the 2008 Underground Music Awards.^[18] Minaj released Beam Me Up Scotty, another mixtape, in April 2009 under the label of Trapaholics Records; it received positive coverage on both BET and MTV.^[19][20]

In August 2009, Minaj signed a record deal with Young Money Entertainment, with distribution from Universal Motown Records, after fellow American rapper Lil Wayne discovered her and secured the record deal.^[17][21] She then had a solo rap verse in their single "BedRock," which became a commercial success, reaching number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Minaj also appeared on "Roger That", which charted at number 56. The song, and in particular Minaj, received positive reviews from critics.^[22] Both songs were included in Young Money Entertainment's debut collaborative studio album We Are Young Money, which was released in December 2009. The album charted in the top ten on the Billboard 200, reaching number 9 and later receiving a Gold Certification by the RIAA. She was then chosen by Mariah Carey to be featured on her single and music video for "Up Out My Face". Critics praised her collaboration for helping to maintain Carey's feminine image and providing a polite track for the female R&B singer.^[23]

[edit] 2010–11: Pink Friday

Britney Spears and Minaj performing the Femme Fatale Remix of "Till the World Ends" in the Femme Fatale Tour.

After a major record label bidding war, Young Money Entertainment announced on August 31, 2009 that Minaj had been released from a 360 deal with the label in which she retains and owns all of her 360 rights – including merchandising, sponsorships, endorsements, touring and publishing.^[24] In an interview with 95.8 Capital FM, Rihanna stated that after the two collaborated on "Raining Men" from her album Loud that the duo would be teaming up together for a possible second collaboration on Minaj's Pink Friday.^[25] Hip-hop rap artist and producer Kanye West was also confirmed for the album.^[26] On August 3, 2010 Minaj revealed on a Ustream.tv channel that the album's name would be Pink Friday, in reference to Black Friday.^[27]

Pink Friday was released on November 19, 2010 in both standard and deluxe versions.^[28][29] A buzz single, "Massive Attack", was released in April.^[30] In August, Minaj released "Your Love" as the first official single from her debut album. The single peaked at 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, 7 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and topped the Rap Songs chart. Minaj became the first female artist to be included on MTV's Annual Hottest MC List^[6] and the first female artist to top the chart unaccompanied since 2002.^[31] In October 2010, Minaj became the first artist to have seven songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart simultaneously.^[4] Minaj released a joint single with The Black Eyed Peas front man, will.i.am titled, "Check It Out", which is Minaj's most successful single to date in Europe. "Right thru Me" was released September 24, 2010; the music video was released in late October. "Moment 4 Life" was released as the fourth single. The track featured Canadian rapper Drake and was released on December 7, 2010, becoming a success on the Billboard Hot 100. The single peaked at number 5 on the Hot Rap Songs.^[32] The album gained a Platinum certification in the United States a month after the release.^[3]

On January 29, 2011, Minaj appeared on Saturday Night Live as the musical guest, performing "Right Thru Me" and "Moment 4 Life". On February 9, 2011, it was announced that Pink Friday had reached number one on the Billboard 200 in its eleventh week on the chart.^[33] It was hinted by Simon Cowell that Minaj would join the judging panel of the American version of the The X Factor.^[34] Starting in June 2011, Minaj will be supporting Pink Friday by serving as an opening act along with Jessie and the Toy Boys and Nervo on Britney Spears' sixth concert tour, the Femme Fatale Tour, in support of her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale.^[35] She also was featured on the official remix of Spears' track "Till the World Ends" along with Spears and singer Kesha, which charted at number 3 in the US in April 2011.^[36] "Super Bass" was released from Pink Friday in May 2011, the single charted within the top 10 in many countries including; United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Canada and more.^[37] The song gained positive reviews from critics.^[38][39] Minaj will voice a character in the 3D animated film, Ice Age: Continental Drift, as an unknown character.^[40][41] Minaj is also featured on French DJ David Guetta's 2011 album, Nothing but the Beat on "Where Them Girls At" and "Turn Me On".

[edit] 2011–present: Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded

Minaj's second studio album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, was first announced through Twitter in November 2011 and was released on April 2, 2012 in the United Kingdom and April 3, 2012 in the United States. The album features collaborations with producers Hit-Boy, Dr. Luke, Rico Beats, Kenoe, RedOne and Oak. Cash Money A&R Joshua Berkman told HitQuarters that Minaj was extremely particular about the beats and music she used saying: "She wouldn't just rap or sing on anything – I could give her a thousand tracks and she may only like one or two."^[42] Preceding the album's release, three promotional singles were released: Roman in Moscow (which didn't make the final cut of the album), "Stupid Hoe," and "Roman Reloaded." The album's first single, "Starships", was released on February 14.^[43] "Starships" became Minaj's best-peaking single in the United Kingdom, when it reached a peak of 2. It has also peaked at number 5 on the US Billboard Hot 100, making it her second top 10 arrival following, "Super Bass" in 2011. The music video was released on April 26th, 2012.^[44]

On February 12, 2012, Minaj debuted her song "Roman Holiday" at the 54th Grammy Awards. It was the first song ever performed on the Grammy stage by a solo female rapper.^[45] The exorcism-themed performance drew a mixed response online.^[46][47]

She was featured on Madonna's twelfth studio album, titled MDNA, alongside M.I.A. on its lead single "Give Me All Your Luvin'", for which a music video has been directed by Megaforce.^[48] The trio performed the song for the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show.^[49] She was also featured on a song called "I Don't Give A", another track from the album.

She released her second single, "Right by My Side", which features Chris Brown, on March 27, 2012, after premiering on Minaj's website on March 20, 2012.^[50] Following the album's release, it peaked at number 24 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart. It also peaked in the lower regions of the UK singles chart, at position #101. The third single, "Beez in the Trap", which features 2 Chainz was released to U.S. Urban radio on April 24, 2012. It was premiered on DJ Flex's radio show at Hot 97 on March 20, 2012. It has peaked at number 24 on the US Billboard Rap Songs Chart.^[51] The video was premiered on April 6, 2012 on Minaj's official VEVO account.^[52]

Artistry[link]

Minaj in 2011 during Femme Fatale Tour

Image[link]

Minaj has been noted by the media for her curvaceous figure.^{[53][54][55][56]} In an interview with Vibe Minaj discussed her sexual image stating, "[w]hen I grew up I saw females doing certain things, and I thought I had to do that exactly. The female rappers of my day spoke about sex a lot... and I thought that to have the success they got, I would have to represent the same thing. When in fact I didn’t have to represent the same thing."^[57] In an interview with Interview, Minaj commented on her sexual image again stating, "I made a conscious decision to try to tone down the sexiness, I want people—especially young girls—to know that in life, nothing is going to be based on sex appeal. You’ve got to have something else to go with that.”^[58] Minaj has a tattoo in Chinese characters that reads "上帝與你常在" (shàngdì yǔ nǐ cháng zài)^[59] on her left arm, meaning, "God is always with you."^[60]

Alter egos[link]

While growing up, Minaj's home life was often chaotic, with her parents constantly fighting.^[61] As a means of escape, she would create characters and live her life through them.^[61] In an interview with New York she stated, "To get away from all their fighting, I would imagine being a new person. 'Cookie' was my first identity – that stayed with me for a while. I went on to 'Harajuku Barbie,' then 'Nicki Minaj'. Fantasy was my reality."^[61]

On November 18, 2010, Minaj assumed a different alter-ego named "Nicki Teresa".^[62] Wearing a colorful scarf around her head, she went around as the "healer to her fans" as she visited them at The Garden of Dreams Foundation at Fuse studios in New York City.^[62] Minaj made an appearance on Lopez Tonight on December 6, 2010 and presented a different alter-ego for the Spanish-inspired occasion, named "Rosa" (pronounced Rrrrrosa).^[63]

In April 2012, Minaj was asked if Roman, Martha and Rosa come out in the bedroom saying “No, they don’t come out in the bedroom, but other people come out in the bedroom,” she told Big Boy during his “Backstage Breakfast,” adding, “And there’s only one person that would know who that personality is". Minaj did not name her alter-ego.^[64]

For her debut album, Minaj created another alter-ego named "Roman Zolanski".^[65] She stated that in songs like "Bottoms Up" with Trey Songz it is not Minaj rapping, but instead Roman Zolanski, and claims that Roman is her "twin brother". She claims that he was born inside her, out of rage, and becomes him when she is angry. She has also said 'He is a demon inside her'. Roman has been compared to Eminem's alter ego Slim Shady, and on the song "Roman's Revenge" from Pink Friday, Minaj and Eminem collaborate, using these alter egos.^[66] On the collaboration, she said "The new album is going to have a lot of Roman on it ... And if you're not familiar with Roman, then you will be familiar with him very soon. He’s the boy that lives inside of me. He's a lunatic and he's gay and he'll be on there a lot."^[67] Roman also has a "mother" called "Martha Zolanski",^[68] who also appeared on the song "Roman's Revenge", with a British accent,^[69] and on "Roman Holiday", singing for the first time.^[70][71] Martha appears in the video for "Moment 4 Life" where she appears to be Minaj's magical Godmother. In songs such as "All I Do Is Win (Remix)" it is Minaj rapping.^[65] Minaj stated that on her debut album, fans will get to "meet" Nicki, Roman and Onika.^[65]

Influences[link]

Minaj has stated that artists who have influenced her musical style include Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, Lil Wayne, Lauryn Hill, Jadakiss, Natasha Bedingfield, Foxy Brown, Lil' Kim and Missy Elliott.^[72][73] She was also inspired by Janet Jackson,^[74] Madonna, Britney Spears, Marilyn Monroe, Grace Jones,^[75] M.I.A. and Cyndi Lauper.^[76][77][78]

Product and endorsements[link]

During her career, Minaj has signed contracts with a variety of corporate interests. Companies she contracted with include soft drink manufacturer Pepsi;^[79] Mattel, which produced a custom a Nicki Minaj-themed Barbie;^[80] and MAC Cosmetics, as part of an AIDS-awareness campaign in Latin America.^[81]

Personal life[link]

Minaj is a Christian, and on Christmas Day in 2011, she indicated her faith in Jesus by tweeting John 3:16.^[82][83] In addition, she states that after her father went to rehab and started attending church, "he got saved and started changing his life."^[84] Minaj states that her heroes are "God. And my mother."^[85][86]

While some songs and interviews have implied that Minaj is bisexual,^[87][88] she has said that she does not date nor have sex with women,^[15] but added in an interview with Out magazine, "I don’t date men either."^[89] In an interview with Vibe she commented, "I just embrace all people of all lifestyles and I don’t tell them they are bad people. And I say girls are beautiful and girls are sexy and they need to be told that, and if they don’t have anyone to tell them that and mean it, I’m gonna tell them that. But I feel like people always wanna define me and I don’t wanna be defined."^[90] She reiterated her dislike of being labeled in an interview with Out, saying: "The point is, everyone is not black and white. There are so many shades in the middle, and you’ve got to let people feel comfortable with saying what they want to say when they want to say it."^[89]

During an interview in the May 2010 issue of Details, Minaj was asked if she felt hip-hop was becoming more gay-friendly. She responded, "I think the world is getting more gay-friendly, so hip-hop is too. But it's harder to imagine an openly gay male rapper being embraced, people view gay men as having no street credibility. But I think we'll see one in my lifetime."^[88]

In July 2011, Minaj's cousin Nicholas Telemaque was murdered near his home in Brooklyn, New York City.^[91] Telemaque was referenced in Minaj's song "Champion" in her second studio album.^[92]

Discography[link]

• Pink Friday (2010)
• Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (2012)

Touring[link]

• Pink Friday Tour (2012)

See also[link]

Nicki Minaj portal

• List of awards and nominations received by Nicki Minaj

References[link]

Notes[link]

External links[link]

	Book: Nicki Minaj
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

• Official website
• Nicki Minaj at the Internet Movie Database
• Media related to Nicki Minaj at Wikimedia Commons

Gary Oldman
Oldman at the London premiere of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, September 2011.
Born	Leonard Gary Oldman[1] (1958-03-21) 21 March 1958 (age 54) New Cross, London, England, UK
Occupation	Actor, filmmaker, musician
Years active	1979–present
Spouse	Lesley Manville (1987–1989) Uma Thurman (1990–1992) Donya Fiorentino (1997–2001) Alexandra Edenborough (2008–present)
Parents	Leonard Bertram Oldman Kathleen Cheriton
Family	Laila Morse (sister)

Gary Leonard Oldman (born 21 March 1958) is an English screen and stage actor, filmmaker and musician, who is the highest-grossing actor in the history of film.^[2] A successful theatre actor and former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Oldman gained mainstream recognition from the early 1980s to early 1990s for his portrayals of morally ambiguous characters in films including Meantime, Sid and Nancy, Prick Up Your Ears, The Firm, State of Grace, JFK and Dracula. He became a popular portrayer of villains by the mid 1990s,^[3] playing the antagonist of True Romance, Léon, The Fifth Element, Air Force One and The Contender. Since the millenium Oldman has starred in such films as the Harry Potter series, Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, Kung Fu Panda 2 and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Aside from film acting, he has starred in television shows like Knots Landing and Friends, voiced various characters in the Call of Duty video game series, and wrote and directed Nil By Mouth, a film partially based on his own childhood.^[4]

Oldman has garnered widespread critical and peer respect;^[5] Tom Hardy once remarked, "Gary Oldman is, hands down, the greatest actor that's ever lived."^[6] Among other honours, Oldman has won two BAFTA Awards and a Saturn Award, and has been nominated for Academy-, Emmy-, Screen Actors Guild- and Independent Spirit Awards, as well as the Palme d'Or. Norman Stansfield, his overstated antagonist in Léon, has been named as one of cinema's greatest villains.^[7] In 2011, Oldman was voted an "Icon of Film" by Empire readers.^[8]

Early life[link]

Oldman was born in London, the son of Kathleen (née Cheriton; b. 28 November 1919), a housewife, and Leonard Bertram Oldman (21 May 1921 – October 1985), a former sailor who worked as a welder.^[9][10] He has said that his father was an alcoholic who left his family when Oldman was seven.^[11] Oldman attended the South East London Boys' School on Creek Road in Deptford, leaving school at 16 to work in a sports shop.^[12] He was an accomplished singer and pianist as a child, but gave up his musical aspirations to pursue an acting career.^[13] His inspiration was Malcolm McDowell's performance in 1970 film The Raging Moon.^[14][15] In a 1995 interview with Charlie Rose, Oldman said, "Something about Malcolm [McDowell] just arrested me, and I connected, and I said, 'I wanna do that'."^[16]

Acting career[link]

Theatre, early films and foray into American cinema (1979–1990)[link]

Oldman studied with the Young People's Theatre in Greenwich during the mid 1970s,^[17][18] while working jobs on assembly lines, as a porter in an operating theatre, selling shoes and beheading pigs in an abbatoir.^[17] He later won a scholarship to attend the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama in Sidcup, Kent, from which he graduated with a BA in Acting in 1979.^[18][19] Before enrolling at Rose Bruford, Oldman had unsuccessfully applied to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), who welcomed him to try again the following year, but advised him to find something else to do for a living^[16][19] (when asked by Charlie Rose if he had reminded RADA of this, Oldman joked, "the work speaks for itself"^[16]). He made his professional stage debut in 1979 as Puss, alongside Michael Simkins, in Dick Whittington and His Cat, at York's Theatre Royal. The play then ran in Colchester, then with Glasgow's Citizens Theatre;^[19] Oldman's work ethic and trademark intensity would make him a favourite with audiences in Glasgow during the 1980s.^[18] From 1980–1981, he appeared in The Massacre at Paris (Christopher Marlowe), Desperado Corner (Shaun Lawton), and Robert David MacDonald's plays Chinchilla and A Waste Of Time. He performed in a 6-month West End run of MacDonald's Summit Conference, opposite Glenda Jackson, in 1982.^[19] Also that year, Oldman made his film debut in Colin Gregg's Remembrance, and would have starred in Don Boyd's Gossip if that film had not collapsed. The following year, he landed a starring role as a skinhead in Mike Leigh's film Meantime, and moved on to Chesterfield to assume the lead role in Entertaining Mr Sloane (Joe Orton). Afterwards, he went to Westcliffe to star in Saved (Edward Bond).^[19]

Saved proved to be a major breakthrough for Oldman. He had written to Max Stafford-Clark, artistic director of the Royal Court Theatre, requesting that he watch the play. Impressed, Stafford-Clark cast Oldman as Scopey, the lead role of Bond's The Pope's Wedding, in 1984.^[19] For his acclaimed performance, he won two of British theatre's top honours: the Time Out Fringe Award for Best Newcomer, and the British Theatre Association's Drama magazine award for Best Actor—the latter of which was shared with future film co-star Anthony Hopkins.^[3][18][20] His turn in The Pope's Wedding led to a run of work with the Royal Court, and from 1984 to 1986 he appeared in Rat In the Skull (Ron Hutchinson), The Desert Air (Nicholas Wright), Cain and Abel, The Danton Affair (Pam Gems), Women Beware Women (Thomas Middleton), Real Dreams (Trevor Griffiths) and all three of Bond's The War Plays: Red Black and Ignorant, The Tin Can People and Great Peace.^[19] Oldman was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1985–1986.^[21] The 1984 production of The Pope's Wedding had been seen by director Alex Cox, who cast Oldman as ill-fated rocker Sid Vicious in the 1986 film Sid And Nancy. In 1987, Oldman gained his third starring film role as Joe Orton in Prick Up Your Ears, for which he received a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor. That same year, Oldman appeared in the plays The Country Wife (William Wycherley) and Serious Money (Caryl Churchill).^[20]

Oldman's performances in Sid and Nancy and Prick Up Your Ears were widely acclaimed, and paved the way for work in Hollywood. Prominent United States film critic Roger Ebert, on the basis of Oldman's work in those films, described him as "the best young British actor around".^[22] His portrayal of Vicious was applauded by many, perhaps most notably ex-Sex Pistols vocalist John Lydon, who despite questioning the authenticity of the film, described Oldman as a "bloody good actor".^[23] Oldman reportedly lost considerable weight for the role and was briefly hospitalised.^[24] His performance would go on to be ranked No. 62 in Premiere magazine's "100 Greatest Performances of All Time"^[25] and No. 8 in Uncut magazine's "10 Best actors in rockin' roles", the latter describing his portrayal as a "hugely sympathetic reading of the punk figurehead as a lost and bewildered manchild."^[26] After coming to prominence for his portrayals of Vicious and Orton, Oldman increased his profile during the late 1980s and early 1990s via starring roles in films such as Criminal Law (which marked Oldman's first use of an American accent), The Firm, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead and State of Grace. Janet Maslin, another noted US film critic, referred to his work as "phenomenal".^[27] In late 1988, he starred opposite long-time hero^[16] Alan Bates in We Think the World of You, and alongside Dennis Hopper and Frances McDormand in the 1989 film Chattahoochee. In 1989, Oldman also starred as football hooligan Clive Bissel in British drama The Firm; in 2011, Total Film named Oldman's performance as the best of his career.^[28] Oldman moved to the United States in the early 1990s, where he has since lived.^[29] Oldman and other young British actors of the 1980s who were becoming established Hollywood film actors, such as Tim Roth, Bruce Payne, Colin Firth, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Paul McGann, were dubbed the 'Brit Pack', of which Oldman was de facto leader.^[6][30]

Villain roles and mainstream success (1991–2001)[link]

Oldman in 2000

In 1991, Oldman starred in what was at that point the most significant role of his career as Lee Harvey Oswald in Oliver Stone's JFK. The following year, he starred as Count Dracula in Francis Ford Coppola's romance-horror Dracula. A commercially successful film adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel,^[31] it was a box office success worldwide. Oldman's performance is regarded by many as a staple of the horror genre, and was recognised by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films as the best male performance of 1992, who awarded Oldman the Best Actor award.^[32] Oldman would later become a popular portrayer of villains:^[3] he played violent pimp Drexl Spivey in True Romance (1993), a sadistic prison warden in Murder in the First (1995), a futuristic corporate tyrant in The Fifth Element (1997), and Dr. Zachary Smith/Spider Smith in the commercially successful but critically panned Lost in Space (1998). In 1994's Léon, he played corrupt DEA officer Norman Stansfield, which has since been named by multiple publications as one of the best villains of modern cinema.^[7] Oldman also displayed a skill for world accents; along with the Transylvanian Count Dracula, he played German-born Viennese composer Ludwig van Beethoven in Immortal Beloved, and Russian terrorist Ivan Korshunov in the 1997 blockbuster Air Force One. He portrayed another historical figure, Pontius Pilate, in Jesus (1999). He also appeared as the Devil in the 1993 promo video to the Guns N' Roses single "Since I Don't Have You",^[33] and served as a member of Jury at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival. Oldman's visibility as one of the foremost portrayers of villains in Hollywood became apparent when MTV's Celebrity Deathmatch aired a match between Oldman and Christopher Walken to determine the greatest cinematic villain.^[34]

Oldman appeared opposite Jeff Bridges as zealous Republican congressman Sheldon Runyon in The Contender (2000), in which he was also credited as a producer. He received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for his performance. In 2001, he starred opposite Anthony Hopkins in Hannibal, as Mason Verger, the only surviving victim of Hannibal Lecter. Oldman reportedly spent six hours per day in the make-up room to achieve the character's hideously disfigured appearance.^[35] It marked the second time Oldman had appeared opposite Hopkins, a personal friend who was part of the supporting cast of Dracula. Oldman is uncredited in the film, reportedly over a dispute regarding top billing, which was going to co-star Anthony Hopkins and Julianne Moore. He received an Emmy Award nomination for two guest appearances in Friends in May 2001, appearing in the two-part episode "The One With Chandler and Monica's Wedding" as Richard Crosby, a pedantic actor who insists that "real" actors spit on one another when they enunciate, leading to tension, then later friendship, between Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc) and himself. Oldman had met LeBlanc on the set of Lost in Space in 1998.

Career slump and mainstream resurgence (2001–present)[link]

Oldman at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con International

Following his Friends appearance, Oldman did not appear in any significant roles until 2004. He starred in the generally well-received Interstate 60 (2002), as well as Tiptoes (2003) and Sin (2003), both of which were received poorly by critics. Although the film failed to impress critics, Oldman did garner critical acclaim for his portrayal of a man afflicted with dwarfism in Tiptoes: Variety described his work in the film as an "astonishingly fine" performance.^[36] Oldman starred as the Devil in the BMW short film, Beat The Devil (2002), and contributed voice acting to several video games. The Guardian described this time period as the "low point" of Oldman's career, consisting of "barrel-scraping roles".^[37]

In 2004, Oldman returned to prominence when he landed a significant role in the Harry Potter film series, playing Harry Potter's godfather Sirius Black. Oldman and star Daniel Radcliffe reportedly became very close during the filming of the series.^[38] The following year, Oldman starred as James Gordon in Christopher Nolan's commercially and critically acclaimed Batman Begins, a role he reprised in the even more successful sequel The Dark Knight (2008) and will reprise again in the upcoming instalment The Dark Knight Rises (2012). Oldman co-starred with Jim Carrey in the 2009 version of A Christmas Carol in which Oldman played three roles.^[39][40][41] He had a starring role in David Goyer's supernatural thriller The Unborn, released in 2009.^[42][43] In 2010, Oldman co-starred with Denzel Washington in The Book of Eli.^[44] He also played a lead role in Catherine Hardwicke's Red Riding Hood.^[45] Oldman voiced the role of villain Lord Shen and was nominated for an Annie Award for his performance in Kung Fu Panda 2.

Oldman earned Academy-, BAFTA Award nominations as well as numerous nominations from critics for his portrayal as British spy George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), a re-adaptation of the John le Carré novel, directed by Tomas Alfredson, also starring Colin Firth, Mark Strong and Tom Hardy.^[46]

He has also participated in the creation of The Legend of Spyro games produced by Sierra Entertainment, providing the voice to the Fire Guardian, Ignitus. He also voices Sergeant Reznov in the award-winning Call of Duty video game series.

Future Projects[link]

Oldman will star in John Hilcoat's Lawless as Floyd Banner, a big-hitting mobster. Lawless will be released in Aug 29.

Relativity Media has acquired US rights to IM Global's thriller Paranoia which stars Oldman in a supporting role along with Harrison Ford and Liam Hemsworth. Production begins in the summer of 2012. Oldman will also star in the revenge thriller Motor City along with Gerard Butler.

It was announced on March 23, 2012 that Oldman would appear upcoming remake of RoboCop as Norton, the scientist who created RoboCop. The film is set for released in August 2013.^[47]

Other ventures[link]

Filmmaking[link]

In 1997, Oldman directed, produced, and wrote the award-winning Nil by Mouth, a movie partially based on his own childhood.^[4] Nil By Mouth went on to win the BAFTA Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film (shared with Douglas Urbanski) and also the BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay, the Channel 4 Director's Award, and an Empire Award. In 1999, it was adjudged by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts as one of the one hundred best British films of the 20th century.^[48] Nil By Mouth was listed by Time Out as number twenty-one of the top 100 best British films ever.

Oldman and producing partner Douglas Urbanski formed the SE8 GROUP to produce Nil By Mouth. The company also produced The Contender, which also starred Oldman. He was also credited as a producer. Some media outlets reported that Oldman was unhappy with the finished product and felt that DreamWorks had heavily edited the film to reflect their pro-Democratic leanings. These claims were later debunked; Oldman, who is not a U.S. citizen, was described as "so uninvolved in politics, he has never even declared a party affiliation".^[49] Oldman has finished his latest screenplay, Chang & Eng, co-written with Darin Strauss, based on the author's book of the same name; SE8 Group will produce. In September 2006, Nokia Nseries Studio^[50] released the Oldman-directed short film Donut, with music by Tor Hyams. The film was shot with an N93 in order to promote the phone. Juliet Landau made a 25-minute documentary about the making of the video. In 2011, he directed a music video for Alex Eden's first single, "Kiss Me Like the Woman You Loved", for Side Tracked Records.

Music[link]

Oldman has had a keen interest in music from an early age. He is a proficient pianist and stated in a 1995 interview with Charlie Rose that he would rather be a musician than an actor.^[16] Oldman sang several tracks on the Sid and Nancy soundtrack, and sang and played live piano in the 1988 movie Track 29. He traced over Beethoven compositions in 1994's Immortal Beloved. He also tutored Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe on bass guitar.^[51] Oldman appeared on Reeves Gabrels' album The Sacred Squall of Now, performing a vocal duet with David Bowie on the track "You've Been Around".^[52] Recently, he produced a live performance by former White Stripes member, Jack White, in conjunction with the Vevo and Youtube.

Popularity and influence[link]

Oldman signing autographs at the Harry Potter premiere, 2007

Oldman has long established a cult following among film fans.^[29][53] He is known for playing the primary antagonist in a number of popular motion pictures,^[3][54] which has seen him referenced in popular culture. At the peak of his popularity in the 1990s, Oldman was dubbed by Empire magazine as Hollywood's "psycho deluxe",^[55] and was spoofed on popular television shows such as Fox comedy series In Living Color^[56] and MTV's Celebrity Deathmatch,^[34] as well as drafted in to appear on the first ever cover of Loaded magazine.^[57] In 1993, he had a cameo role as the Devil in the promo video to the Guns N' Roses single "Since I Don't Have You"^[33]—he also played the Devil in the 2002 BMW short Beat The Devil, alongside Clive Owen, James Brown and Marilyn Manson.^[58] On YouTube, Oldman is the subject of a number of tribute videos. In contrast to his often dark on-screen roles, Oldman's affable real-life demeanour has been noted,^[29] and he was named as one of Empire magazine's "100 Sexiest Stars in Film History" in 2007.^[59] Oldman contributed in a YouTube video posted by Jimmy Kimmel titled Movie: The Movie. He portrayed shortly a centaur at a medical clinic. Very many other famous actors were present at the trailer.^[60]

Allmovie has described Oldman as "capable of portraying almost any type of character", and as having "consistently amazed viewers with his ability to completely disappear into his roles."^[3] His performances during his career have provided inspiration for younger actors who would go on to enjoy successful Hollywood careers. Brad Pitt has described Oldman as his foremost acting "god",^[61] while Daniel Radcliffe has cited Oldman as the actor whose career he would most like to emulate.^[62] Tom Hardy has named Oldman as his "hero"^[63] and "hands down, the greatest actor that's ever lived";^[6] Ryan Gosling has also named Oldman as his favourite actor.^[64] Other actors who have been influenced by Oldman include: Shia LaBeouf,^[65] Joseph Gordon-Levitt,^[66] Johnny Depp,^[67] Chris Pine,^[68] Jason Isaacs^[69] and Michael Fassbender.^[6] Dracula and Hannibal co-star, Anthony Hopkins, has described Oldman as "multi-talented", and as possessing "a great genius and flair for creativity",^[70] while Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy co-star Colin Firth once said of Oldman, "He is as far as I'm concerned a very strong candidate for the world's best living actor."^[71] Harry Potter co-star Ralph Fiennes said of Oldman, "I love Gary Oldman's work. I just think he's a genius actor."^[72] In relation to Oldman's British peers, John Hurt called him "the best of the bunch."^[37]