Gary Oldman, the son of a welder and a homemaker, won a scholarship to Britain's RoseBrufordDramaCollege, where he received a BA in Theatre Arts in 1979. He subsequently studied with the Greenwich Young People's Theatre and went on to appear in a number of plays throughout the early 80s, including "The Pope's Wedding", for which he received Time Out's Fringe Award for Best Newcomer of 1985-1986 and The British Theatre Association's Drama Magazine Award as Best Actor 1985. His film debut was in the 1986 biopic Sid and Nancy (1986), where he played Sex Pistol Sid Vicious, picking up the Evening Standard Film Award as Best Newcomer. In 1988, he received a Best Actor nomination from the BritishAcademy of Film and TV Arts for his portrayal of 60s play-wright 'Joe Orton' . His ability to transform himself physically and his command of accents has allowed him to play a broad range of characters and a number of historical figures, including, in addition to those above, 'Lee Harvey Oswald' (JFK (1991)) and 'Ludwig Van Beethoven' (Immortal Beloved (1994)).
Sirius Black was first mentioned briefly in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Sorcerer's Stone in both US publication and film) as a wizard who lent Hagrid a flying motorbike shortly after Lord Voldemort killed James and Lily Potter. His character becomes prominent in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, in which he is the eponymous prisoner.
