There's something missing from Gary Oldman's trophy cabinet. One of the most decorated actors of his generation, he won a best actor Oscar, Bafta and Golden Globe for playing Sir Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, plus two Baftas for Nil by Mouth, which he wrote and directed. Next month he could pick up his first Emmy award, for his role as Jackson Lamb in Slow Horses, a man who spends a lot more time insulting his MI5 colleagues than he does on his personal hygiene.
However, unlike those acting knights of the realm, such as Sir Anthony Hopkins, Sir Daniel Day Lewis and Sir Kenneth Branagh, he says that he has been completely overlooked by the honours system. “I don’t know why. You should ask them.
No nod from the royals, but there we are” he told the BBC. In recent years, Oscar wins in major categories have tended to be quickly followed up with royal recognition. Mark Rylance was knighted the year after he won best supporting actor for Bridge of Spies, while Olivia Colman, Colin Firth and Eddie Redmayne were all honoured in the months following their triumphs.
In fact, Oldman is the only British winner of best actor or best actress this century not to be the recipient of some kind of honour, but he strongly refutes any suggestion that he has turned one down, by repeating “no” four times in succession. “Maybe it’s in my future,” he adds wistfully. Oldman has not exactly been short of plaudits during a career lasting more than 40 years, in which he has played S.