Oscar-winning actor Sir Gary Oldman received a knighthood at Windsor Castle on Tuesday, recognised for his extensive services to drama.
The 67-year-old London-born star was named in the King’s Birthday Honours, celebrating a career defined by remarkable versatility.
While knighting Oldman, Prince William told the Slow Horses star that every time he sees the actor on screen as MI5 agent Jackson Lamb in the hit Apple TV+ show, he wants to ”give him a good wash”.
Oldman replied: “Well, I think I’ve scrubbed up OK today.”
The actor is known for embodying a diverse array of characters and his acclaimed performances range from his Oscar-winning portrayal of Sir Winston Churchill to the iconic punk rocker Sid Vicious.
His illustrious filmography also includes playing Lee Harvey Oswald in Oliver Stone’s JFK (1991) and the titular vampire in Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992).
More recently, he has thrilled audiences as the sardonic Jackson Lamb in Slow Horses, based on Mick Herron’s popular book series.
Further notable roles saw him as Ludwig van Beethoven in Immortal Beloved (1994) and the memorable Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg in The Fifth Element (1997).
Oldman also made his directorial debut with the semi-autobiographical Nil By Mouth in 1997, a film widely praised for its raw emotional depth.
The acclaimed film earned him Baftas for outstanding British film and best original screenplay in 1998.
Across the Noughties and into the 2010s, he appeared in some of the Harry Potter films as Harry’s godfather, Sirius Black, and also starred as Gotham City Police lieutenant Jim Gordon in Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012).
He was lauded for his performance as George Smiley in 2011 film Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which saw him earn Bafta and Oscar nods.
He was unable to secure the leading actor gongs, however, until his role in The Darkest Hour, which saw him sweep the 2018 awards season, winning an Academy Award, Bafta and more.
Also among the personalities honoured on Tuesday are Bafta-winning actress Samantha Morton and 2022 Euro-winning Lioness Rachel Daly.
Morton, 48, known for her roles in Longford and The Serpent Queen, was made an OBE for services to drama and to charity.
She landed her first TV roles in 1991 in Soldier Soldier and Boon before starring in period dramas including Emma in 1996 and Jane Eyre in 1997.
Morton garnered international acclaim for her performance in Carine Adler’s indie film Under The Skin, for which she received her first British Independent Film Award (Bifa) nomination for best actress in 1998.
In 2002 she won the best actress award for psychological drama Morvern Callar, and in 2022 she was given the Richard Harris Award for outstanding contribution by an actor to British film.
The actress and director has also been nominated for two Oscars – in 2000 for playing Hattie in Sweet And Lowdown and four years later for In America.
In 2008 she received a Golden Globe for her portrayal of child murderer Myra Hindley in TV movie Longford.
Morton also directed and co-wrote the TV drama The Unloved, based on her first-hand experience of the British care system, and won a best single drama award at the Bafta TV Awards in 2010.
She starred alongside Tom Cruise in 2002 sci-fi action film Minority Report and played Mary Lou in Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them (2016).
Morton last year received the Bafta fellowship, the academy’s highest accolade, dedicating the award to children in care.
Daly, one of the stars of the England women’s football team which won the European Championship on home soil in 2022, was made an MBE for services to association football.
The Harrogate-born star, 33, plays for Aston Villa in the Women’s Super League but retired from international football last year.
Additional reporting by Agencies
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