Gary Oldman told Drew Barrymore that he’s thankful for the Harry Potter and Christopher Nolan’s Batman films for saving him – career-wise and his personal life, Variety reported.

Actong jobs were few and far between for the actor before he got the roles Sirius Black and James “Jim” Gordon. These two parts made him a fan favorite of at least two massive fandoms. It also gave him star power he never had before, despite his years and experience as an actor.

Gary Oldman: Grateful to Harry and Bruce

Image Credit: Warner Bros.

“At 42 years old, I woke up divorced and I had custody of [my] boys,” Oldman said. “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 said to Barrymore during his appearance on her talk show.

Oldman added, “Thank God for ‘Harry Potter. 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.”

During the filming for Nolan’s 2005 Batman Begins, the actor flew back and forth from his Los Angeles home to the movie set in London so that he could raise his children after his divorce in 2001.

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

“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, Oldman continued.

Oldman’s old flames

The actor has been married five times: to Lesley Manville from 1987 to 1990, to Uma Thurman from 1990 to 1992, to Donya Fiorentino from 1997 to 2001, to Alexandra Edenborough from 2008 to 2015, and to his current wife of six years, Gisele Schmidt.

Oldman and Fiorentino have two sons. During their divorce, Fiorentino accused him of domestic assault. However, a judge gave the actor custody of both boys after dismissing his ex-wife’s claims of abuse. When he won an Oscar in 2018 as Best Actor for Darkest Hour, the allegations resurfaced when Fiorentino congratulated the Academy for honoring her ex-husband who she claimed was an abuser.

Oldman’s older son Gulliver published an open letter in his father’s defense. He wrote, “It has been troubling and painful to see these false allegations against my father being written about again, especially after this was all settled years ago. There is good reason that these specific articles and accusations subsided years ago.”

The actor most recently played Harry Truman in, reuniting him with Nolan in this year’s Oppenheimer.