On this special RED CARPET edition of INTERVUE, on a November night, The US Navy Memorial Burke Theatre in Washington DC hosted the DC Premiere of the Focus Features film “Darkest Hour”. The film chronicles the life of newly elected Prime Minister Winston Churchill as he makes the toughest decisions that could affect Britain’s involvement of World War II. In attendance of the red carpet were director Joe Wright & actor Gary Oldman. In this first part of the two part series, I am talking to Gary Oldman, who plays Winston Churchill in the movie.
According to Joe, he said you are his hero and he has always wanted to work with you ever since he first saw you in “Sid and Nancy”. What was it like to work with Joe in “Darkest Hour”?
Well, it’s been really, I think quite possibly the highlight of my career.
It is, huh?
Yeah. I’ve had the pleasure of working with some really great, great directors and a whole slew of wonderful actors. I could honestly say that I never enjoyed myself so much on a set working with Joe, wanting to just get up and come into work.
Speaking of coming into work, you portray Churchill and the makeup in the film is excellent. How long does it take to transform into Churchill?
Roughly four hours.
Four hours? My goodness!
So, I would come in very early, do my transformation, then go to rehearsal. A ten-hour day, twelve-hour day, then an hour to take it off. So, my average working day was nineteen hours. That’s probably the smallest violin you could hear playing back there.
(laughs)
But I had a mindset that if Churchill at sixty-five could take on Hitler, then it’s not much of a hardship to sit in a makeup chair for three and a half hours.
Exactly. You could take on any role and you’d get my vote.
Go see Gary’s wonderful performance in Darkest Hour – IN THEATRES NOW & check out the second part of Darkest Hour INTERVUE with director Joe Wright
About The Author
Editor-in-Chief/Entertainment Reporter
I knew early on that I wanted to take my place among the stars. One day, my mother saw me reading The Washington Post at a very young age. Who would have known that it would be the building blocks of my journey? Since that day, I dedicated my life to learn all that is learnable. I read everything from encyclopedias, to books, to dictionaries, to magazines. I’m also an avid consumer of television, with my favorite genre being game shows. If you’ve seen me on Who Wants to be a Millionaire or Wheel of Fortune, then you know that this interest has served me well!
My unique style of reporting began back in junior high school, when I started to chronicle the events that shaped my life. Whether it was the annual family vacation or the local science fiction convention, I shot numerous pictures and recorded my thoughts so I could truly appreciate the history. During my senior year at Friendly High, I wrote what was to be my first masterpiece, “Advanced Space Academy – A One Week Journey.” I sent the eleven-page article back to the U.S. Space Camp staff. The article was highly praised for being “one of the best written articles in the history of U.S. Space Camp.” From then on, I knew what I wanted to do for rest of my life — to be a reporter.
Since then, I have trained in Broadcast Journalism at Bowie State University (2008) in Bowie, MD earning a B.S. in Communications. I gained experience in news production and editing through field experiences with Bowie Community Media Corporation, Prince George’s Community Television, and Bowie State University Television. I also wrote scripts for a variety of quiz shows for over five years.
As a lifelong movie buff, I now see close to 100 films every year. I took this love of movies to the next step when I became a co-host for Eclipse Magazine TV in the fall of 2005. While at EMTV, I interviewed celebrities, worked red carpets, and attended a wide variety of movie screenings. In January 2009, I took a leap of faith and started my own entertainment news magazine, The Rogers Revue. Shortly afterward, my life-long journey of studying the silver screen and writing about what I learned finally earned me a place in the Washington Area Film Critics Association.
All of this has led me here, giving you the latest entertainment news for the DMV and the entire nation, and I am truly excited for whatever will come next.
