Harry Potter actor Gary Oldman hints he’s retiring from acting

Legendary actor Gary Oldman has hinted that he might be ready to retire from acting once and for all.

The Harry Potter star has had a long spanning career across both film and television, earning him an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, a SAG Award, and three BAFTAs.

But as he prepares to return for the second season of Apple TV+'s Slow Horses, it seems the actor is starting to think about throwing in the towel.

Speaking to The Sunday Times ahead of this new season, Oldman confessed he's starting to consider retirement.

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

"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.

"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 honoured and privileged to go out as Jackson Lamb [his Slow Horses character] - and then hang it up."

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Concerned fans needn't worry, though, as Oldman's departure from Slow Horses is quite a long way off.

The thriller series, which is based on the bestselling Slough House books by Mick Herron, has Oldman tied in for at least two more seasons, according to Deadline.

Slow Horses tells the story of Jackson Lamb, the boss of a dysfunctional team of disgraced MI5 agents. Though Lamb expects the agents to quit their paper-pushing jobs out of sheer boredom, the agents soon find themselves tied up in a dangerous gambit.

As well as Slow Horses, Oldman is also set to team up with Christopher Nolan one more time for Oppenheimer, a film about the Manhattan Project and the creation of the atomic bomb that will also star Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr, Florence Pugh, Matt Damon, Rami Malek, and Emily Blunt.

The actor is set to play President Truman in the historical drama.

London Entertainment/Alamy Stock Photo

Oldman broke into acting through theatre, working his way up to the West End, where he earned high praise for his leading role in The Pope's Wedding.

He eventually launched his on-screen career with the 1986 film Sid & Nancy, earning his first BAFTA nomination the following year for his portrayal of gay playwright Joe Orton in biopic Prick Up Your Ears.

Over the course of his outstanding career, has been known for his fantastic portrayal of well-known characters, such as Lee Harvey Oswald in JFK, Count Dracula in Bram Stoker's Dracula, Sirius Black in Harry Potter, Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, and Commissioner Gordon in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy.