‘Harry Potter' & ‘Batman' saved my life: Gary Oldman

One of the finest actors in Hollywood, Gary Oldman, revealed that two big franchises, Harry Potter and Batman, saved his career when he was going through a tough patch at the time, personally and professionally.

Appearing on The Drew Barrymore Show, the Oscar winner shared, “At 42 years old, I woke up divorced, and I had custody of [my] boys,” adding, “That, in itself, was… that was hard because there was a shift in the industry where a lot of productions were being [filmed in] Hungary, Budapest, Prague, Australia, you know, all of these places. So, I turned down a lot of work.”

He continued, “Thank God for ‘Harry Potter,’” noting, “Thank God for ‘Harry Potter.’ I tell you, the two — ‘Batman’ and ‘Harry Potter’ — really, they saved me, because it meant that I could do the least amount of work for the most amount of money and then be home with the kids.”

Navigating his personal life with professional work, the Darkest Hour star revealed when he filmed 2005’s Batman Begins, he almost regularly went back and forth from Los Angeles home to London’s set to raise kids following divorce.

“When we did the first Batman. London doubled for Gotham. I did 27 round trips of flying back from LA,” he continued.

Noting, “I’d fly in for a day. I’d do a shoot a day. To Chris Nolan’s credit.. he stayed on schedule. I would go home for three days. Come back for two. Go home for a weekend. Come back for a day… otherwise, I just felt my kids are being brought up by a nanny.”