Oldman was born in New Cross, London, the son of Leonard Bertram Oldman (1921-1985), a former sailor who also worked as a welder, and Kathleen (nee Cheriton; born 1919). He has stated that Leonard was an alcoholic who left the family when Oldman was seven years old. Oldman attended West Greenwich School in Deptford, leaving school at the age of 16 to work in a sports shop. He was a pianist as a child, and later a singer, but gave up his musical aspirations to pursue an acting career after seeing Malcolm McDowell's performance in the 1971 film The Raging Moon.

In 2015, Oldman played the head of police that investigates Tom Hardy's character in Child 44, alongside Noomi Rapace and Joel Kinnaman, and had a supporting role in the post-apocalyptic American thriller Man Down, directed by Dito Montiel, and starring alongside Shia LaBeouf and Kate Mara. In 2016, Oldman played a CIA chief in Criminal, directed by Ariel Vromen, and starring Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones, Ryan Reynolds, Alice Eve, and Gal Gadot. He also starred in The Space Between Us with Asa Butterfield, which was released on 3 February 2017.  In 2017, Oldman appeared as a villain in The Hitman's Bodyguard with Samuel L. Jackson, Ryan Reynolds, and Salma Hayek, and starred in Darkest Hour, as British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Oldman has received positive notice in the USA and in the UK for this performance, including winning Academy Award for Best Actor, Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actor, Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor, and BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.  Oldman is starring in Hunter Killer, with Gerard Butler, Billy Bob Thornton, and Linda Cardellini, and is slated to direct a biopic about Eadweard Muybridge entitled Flying Horse. In 2018, Oldman is starring in horror-thriller Mary directed by Michael Goi. He will also start in Netflix's sci-fi project titled Tau directed by Federico D'Alessandro alongside Ed Skrein and Maika Monroe. Oldman is also slated to star in an adaptation of John Le Carre's Smiley's People, with Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, and Douglas Urbanski producing.

Anything else interesting in his recent work?
Oldman played a CIA chief in Criminal, directed by Ariel Vromen,