Gary Oldman Would Break Character in ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ Because of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Acting

Actor Gary Oldman became a permanent part of Batman mythology with his portrayal of Commissioner Jim Gordon. But in The Dark Knight Rises, Oldman occasionally had a bit of trouble maintaining his character in scenes with co-star Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Gary Oldman was originally supposed to be a villain in Christopher Nolan’s ‘Batman Begins’

It may be difficult to imagine Oldman playing anyone but Commissioner Jim Gordon in Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. But originally, Nolan didn’t picture Oldman playing Gordon at all. Though he wanted The Professional star in the film, Nolan had a different character in mind for Oldman. The filmmaker tried to pitch Oldman the concept of the director’s new take on Batman during a meeting.

“Chris admired and was a fan of the comic and the original conception of Batman, which was darker. So that was basically the pitch, he was saying, ‘I’m going to reinterpret it, I’m going to try and base it more in reality, there will be explanations.’ I thought it sounded fantastic,” Oldman once said in an interview with Empire (via Comic Book Movie). “Then they came in with a villain. And I was at that point where you say, ‘Oh. I can’t do that anymore‘. I really felt I’d played all the notes that I could in terms of villains.”

But when Oldman looked at Nolan’s take on Commissioner Gordon, the Oscar-winner figured out who he wanted to play.

“I had a think, and then I said to my manager, ‘What about Jim Gordon?’ And they proposed it to [Chris] and, to his credit, he cast me. He went, ‘Oh that’s an interesting idea,” Oldman remembered.

Gary Oldman kept breaking character in ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ because of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s acting

Oldman worked alongside a talented cast in Nolan’s Batman franchise. Some of those performers he couldn’t help to marvel at, like Michael Caine who played Batman’s butler Alfred. Oldman recalled one scene with Caine that he thought was a phenomenal display of acting.

“There was one scene [on The Dark Knight Rises] where Michael, Michael Caine, had to get very emotional and it’s almost heart-breaking, it’s almost too painful to watch. And he came in, take one: Got it. Take two: Got it. Take three: Nailed it. I mean it was like watching a masterclass in acting. I said to Christian at the time, ‘That is how it’s [frick]ing done.’ Just seeing it. No messing,” Oldman remembered.

Oldman also found himself working alongside Rises’ Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Levitt was a new addition to Nolan’s Batman trilogy, playing an honest cop working along with Oldman’s Commissioner Gordon. Oldman had similar praise for Gordon-Levitt as he did for Caine. Gordon-Levitt was sometimes so good that he disrupted Oldman’s own performance.

“Someone that talented, I do these scenes with him and you can’t put a pin through an insincere movement,” Oldman once said to MTV News (via Contact Music). “It’s wonderful. You come out of character sometimes because you’re in a scene and you find your head going, ‘Wow, he’s pretty good!'”

Gary Oldman found his last day as Commissioner Gordon quite sad

As much as Oldman might have appreciated the role, he knew he wouldn’t be playing Commissioner Gordon forever. His tenure as the honest Gotham City police officer ended with Rises, which left Oldman with a mixture of emotions.

“So I think there’s a relief and it’s mixed with [some sadness.] It was quite sad, my last night of shooting, to retire Jim,” Oldman once told Moviefone (via Comic Book Movie).

Actor Jeffrey Wright is now playing Jim Gordon in a new generation of Batman films led by Robert Pattinson.