Gary Oldman Reveals The Dark Knight Trilogy Villain He Almost Played Before Jim Gordon

Actor Gary Oldman portrays Jim Gordon in Batman Begins and its two sequels, but the veteran actor has revealed the DC villain he almost played in the movie instead. Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy certainly wasn’t the first successful Batman franchise, but it breathed new life into the Caped Crusader and his supporting characters. One such benefactor of increased narrative focus is Jim Gordon, who’s much more fleshed out in the trilogy than in any projects that came before.

While Oldman’s results as Gordon speak for themselves, the actor revealed that he almost played an iconic Batman villain. In a Happy, Sad, Confused interview, Oldman was questioned about the rumor that he was initially approached to play Ra’s al Ghul, who was instead eventually played by Liam Neeson in Batman Begins. The actor debunked the claim, instead clarifying that he thinks he remembers being offered Scarecrow instead. That part eventually went to long-time Nolan collaborator Cillian Murphy, who did a wonderful job with the part. Read his full quote below in response to whether he was offered R’as:

“I’ve got a feeling it was Scarecrow. And that was about the time when I was sort of thinking ‘I’ve had enough of this.’ And I think it was Doug, my manager, said, or suggested to Chris [Nolan], ‘What about Jim Gordon?’ and to his credit, Chris…’Hmm, that’s interesting.’ And we met, and that’s how it sort of came about.”

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Nolan Only Gave Gary Oldman 2 Direction Notes In 7 Years

In addition to revealing that he was approached for the role of Doctor Jonathan Crane, aka Scarecrow, Oldman revealed that he only received two acting notes from director Christopher Nolan throughout Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises. Oldman claims that Nolan “tends to leave you alone” during production, but during one scene, he asked Oldman for another take with the feedback, “Let’s do that one more time. There’s more at stake.” Oldman didn’t clarify which scene or which movie the note was from, but he appreciated its simplicity and the freedom it left him to interpret the change in his own way.

Despite clarifying one example of feedback from Nolan on the set of the historic Dark Knight trilogy, he left the other example unspoken. The director’s largely hands-off style clearly worked, and the series has consistently great acting. Big-screen adaptations of Batman have clearly taken inspiration from Batman Begins and its sequels, and time will tell if the upcoming The Brave and the Bold follows suit or goes in a different direction.