via Getty Images  

‘Harry Potter’ Actor Gary Oldman Hints He’s Retiring From Acting

He’s had a truly prolific career, but now things might be over for Gary Oldman.

advertisement

The majority of us know him best from his iconic role in Harry Potter.

  via Getty Images  

Scroll on to find out more…

advertisement

Now, of course, we all know J.K Rowling is the woman behind it all.

  via Getty Images  

What started out as a mere musing while stuck on a delayed train in London in 1990, led to a young Joanne Rowling conjuring up the magical story of Harry Potter.

advertisement

It’s become a huge success.

  via Getty Images  

Thirty years since it’s creation, over 500 million copies of the book franchise have been sold worldwide in eighty different languages.

Making it one of the best-selling book series of all time.

  via Getty Images  

Rowling famously struggled with marriage and money issues in the 4 years she spent working on the first Harry Potter book. In 1994, she found herself as a newly-divorced single mom living out of her sister’s spare room in the Scottish city of Edinburgh.

And, unbelievably, her idea was turned down by several different publishers…

  via Getty Images  

Who reportedly found the idea to be “too long-winded for children.”

Even her literary agent allegedly warned her, “You do realize, you will never make a fortune out of writing children’s books?”

  via Getty Images  

But, regardless of her personal struggles, she continued working on her vision, frequently taking to small coffee shops across Edinburgh to complete her debut book.

And out it came…

  via Shutterstock  

500 copies of the debut Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone finally hit the shelves in bookstores across the United Kingdom.

The book was an instant success.

  via Getty Images  

The adventures of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger were quick to capture a vast and loyal fanbase, with children and adults alike being instantly captivated by the novel.

And, in the years following from The Philosopher’s Stone

  via Getty Images  

Rowling went on to release 6 more books that detailed Harry’s fight against the notorious Lord Voldemort, which only made her unique take on the fantasy world of magic even more known and loved across the world.

We became Harry Potter obsessed.

  via Getty Images  

So, of course, it didn’t take long for the movie adaptations to come along.

The final chapter of the Harry Potter franchise, The Deathly Hallows, was released back in 2007…

  via Getty Images  

And fans were finally able to discover the fate of Harry Potter and the rest of the wizarding community.

Something which Rowling has claimed she knew from the very beginning.

  via Getty Images  

Including the collaboration on the 2-part play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and the hugely successful blockbuster, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Sadly, since then we have lost many of the characters we all grew to love.

  via Getty Images  

Leslie Phillips’s death was the most recent tragedy to hit Harry Potter fans.

He sadly passed away at the age of ninety-eight following a long illness.

  via Getty Images  

Phillips was best known for voicing the iconic Sorting Hat in the movies.

Richard Harris.

  via Getty Images  

Harris took on the colossal task of playing Albus Dumbledore and did so with such ease that we all fell in love with his warm and grandfatherly persona.

Sadly, Harris only got to play the headmaster for the first 2 Harry Potter movies, as he tragically died in 2002 aged seventy-two.

  via Getty Images  

Michael Gambon was then cast as Dumbledore and played the character for the remaining 6 movies.

Robert Knox.

  via Getty Images  

Knox played Marcus Belby in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and was set to appear in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

However, he tragically died in 2008 after being stabbed to death outside a London bar after a fight broke out.

  via Getty Images  

The eighteen-year-old actor was allegedly trying to protect his brother (sixteen) when he was killed.

Elizabeth Spriggs.

  via Getty Images  

Spriggs famously played The Fat Lady in the painting that stood guard over the Gryffindor common room.

Sadly, Spriggs died in 2008, aged seventy-eight.

  via Getty Images  

Her role was later given to the British comedian Dawn French.

Timothy Bateson.

  via Getty Images  

Bateson voiced the character Kreacher, the old house elf who served the House of Black, Kreacher was later left to Harry Potter after Sirius Black’s death.

Bateson voiced the character in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

  via Getty Images  

But sadly died in 2009, aged eighty-three.

Jimmy Gardner.

  via Getty Images  

Gardner played the wacky Ernie Prang who drove the Knight Bus in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Impressively, Gardner had been in the acting profession since the ’60s and was also a WWII veteran.

  via Shutterstock  

He died in 2010, aged eighty-five.

Alfred Burke.

  via Getty Images  

Burke played Armando Dippet, the predecessor of Albus Dumbledore, he was the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Burke died in 2011 aged ninety-two.

Eric Sykes.

  via Getty Images  

Sykes played Frank Bryce, the gardener for the Riddle family who became the prime suspect in their murder, a crime he didn’t commit. He died in 2012, aged eighty-nine.

Richard Griffiths.

  via Getty Images  

Griffiths famously played Vernon Dursley, the reluctant guardian/uncle of Harry Potter. He was the husband of Petunia Evans, the sole remaining bloodline of Harry, and father to Dudley Dursley.

Griffiths appeared in 5 of the movies in the franchise.

  via Getty Images  

He sadly died in 2013, aged sixty-five due to complications following heart surgery.

Peter Cartwright.

  via Getty Images  

Cartwright played Elphias Doge, a jury member of the Ministry of Magic, a member of the Order of the Phoenix in the Wizarding Wars, and a close friend of Dumbledore.

He sadly died in 2014, aged seventy-nine.

  via Getty Images  

His character was later replaced by David Ryall.

Roger Lloyd Pack.

  via Getty Images  

Pack played Barty Crouch Senior, the influential Ministry of Magic official who was eventually killed by his son and Death Eater, Barty Crouch Jr. He died in 2014, aged sixty-nine.

Dave Legeno.

  via Getty Images  

Legeno played Fenrir Greyback, a werewolf and Death Eater known for praying on children.

He starred in 3 Harry Potter films before his tragic death.

  via Shutterstock  

His body was found by hikers in Death Valley in 2014 aged fifty. His death was listed as being caused by heat-related health problems.

Derek Deadman.

  via Getty Images  

Deadman played Tom, the landlord, and barman of the Leaky Cauldron, the pub many passed through to get to Diagon Alley. He died in 2014, aged seventy-four.

David Ryall.

  via Shutterstock  

Ryall played replaced Peter Cartwright as Elphias Doge, he appeared in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part: 1, but sadly died in 2014, aged seventy-nine.

Alan Rickman.

  via Getty Images  

Rickman played Severus Snape, the half-blood wizard with a double life that played an integral part in the Wizarding Wars against Voldemort.

His character progression was full of twists and turns, and fans grew to love him.

  via Getty Images  

Tragically, behind the scenes, Rickman was suffering from terminal cancer and sadly passed away in 2016.

Terence Bayler.

  via Getty Images  

Bayler played The bloody Barron, a ghost that haunted Hogwarts. He was once a wizard of the school known as the Slytherin student Phillip Strenger. Bayler died in 2016, aged eighty-six.

Hazel Douglas.

  via Getty Images  

Douglas played Bathilda Bagshot, a witch, and historian known for writing A History of Magic. She appeared in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. She died in 2016, aged ninety-two.

John Hurt.

  via Getty Images  

Hurt took on the role of Garrick Ollivander, the wandmaker we meet in the first movie of the franchise. Hurt was a hugely successful actor, and appeared in a vast number of film and stage productions during his career. He died in 2017, aged seventy-seven.

Sam Beazley.

  via Shutterstock  

Beazley played the painting of Professor Everard in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, he died in 2017, aged 101.

Robert Hardy.

  via Getty Images  

Hardy played Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Hardy was a classical actor and played a variety of roles throughout his career. He sadly died in 2017, aged ninety-one.

Verne Troyer.

  via Getty Images  

Troyer played Griphook, the goblin in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone who worked at Gringotts Wizarding Bank in Diagon Alley. He was later replaced by Warwick Davies following his death in 2018, aged forty-nine.

Paul Ritter.

  via Getty Images  

Ritter played Eldred Worple, the wizard and famed writer, who was known for being the favorite student of Horace Slughorn. Ritter sadly died in 2021 of a brain tumor.

Helen McCrory.

  via Getty Images  

McCrory played Narcissa Malfoy, the wife of Lucius Malfoy and mother of Draco Malfoy.

She was a cold character, and very much a Slytherin, but fans grew to love her as the franchise went on.

  via Getty Images  

McCrory sadly died last year aged fifty-two after battling breast cancer.

Robbie Coltrane.

  via Getty Images  

Coltrane played the loveable Rubeus Hagrid who was a huge part of Harry Potter’s life from the start of the franchise.

Coltrane tragically died in October, aged seventy-two from multiple organ failure.

  via Getty Images  

Rest in peace to all the incredible actors we’ve had to say goodbye to over the years.

What an amazing legacy they’ve left behind.

And now, another Harry Potter star may be at the end of his career.

  via Getty Images  

Gary Oldman has dropped a major hint that he’s about to retire.

“Personally I am happy for him. He should retire and enjoy his life. He will always be the only Dracula to me and the only Commissioner Gordon. I hope he does some cool stuff with the rest of his life,” wrote one fan.

  via Getty Images  

“He was always incredibly polite, humble, and incredibly funny. The man has earned his retirement, and I wish him all the best,” added another.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, Oldman opened up about the potential end of his career.

  via Getty Images  

“I’ve had an enviable career, but careers wane, and I do have other things that interest me outside of acting,” he explained.

“When you’re young, you think you’re going to get round to doing all of them – read that book – then the years go by.

  via Getty Images  

“I’m 65 next year; 70 is around the corner. I don’t want to be active when I’m 80.

I’d be very happy and honored and privileged to go out as Jackson Lamb, and then hang it up,” the actor said.

  via Getty Images  

However, fans can still enjoy watching Oldman in the next 2 seasons of Apple TV+’s Slow Horses.

Phew.