Gary Oldman on the Joy of Playing Villains — and the Lost Art Behind Them

Few actors have made villainy look quite as enjoyable as Gary Oldman. Reflecting on two of his most flamboyant antagonists — Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg in The Fifth Element and Dr. Zachary Smith in Lost in Space — Oldman recently mused on what made those roles so fun to play.

"This particularly, like The Fifth Element, much like Lost in Space, they’re comic villains," he said. "It was fun, great cast… [Dr. Smith] was fun to play because it’s a villain with a tongue in the cheek or a little twinkle in the eye."

That twinkle — a knowing glint that says the villain’s enjoying himself far too much — has become something of a lost art in modern blockbusters, where brooding silence and heavy CGI often replace personality. Oldman’s take on Smith, a scheming saboteur with theatrical flair, channeled the same energy that made Zorg unforgettable: unhinged yet oddly charming, wicked but weirdly stylish. "It was a lot of movie in two hours," he added of Lost in Space. "But it was fun."

The actor’s career, of course, took a sharp turn when he joined Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy as the noble Commissioner Gordon — a casting move that surprised many, including screenwriter David S. Goyer. "Now that I’m a more experienced filmmaker, I realised that it’s really exciting to cast against type," Goyer recalled on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. "It’s exciting for filmmakers, and it’s also exciting for the actors."

Whether he’s plotting chaos in deep space or holding Gotham together by sheer force of moral will, Oldman remains a master of transformation. And while today’s villains may be darker, few manage to smuggle in that cheeky glint — the theatrical sparkle that once made being bad look like the best part in the script.