INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

Gary Oldman Joins Gerard Butler’s Submarine Thriller ‘Hunter Killer’

By Ny MaGee
Published on: 14:25 PST, Feb 5, 2016

British actor Gary Oldman has signed on to serve his intense, but respected style in the action thriller Hunter Killer, starring Gerard Butler. Oldman will play a U.S. official in the film that’s adapted from George Wallace and Don Keith’s novel Firing Point. It centers on “a rogue Russian general who kidnaps his country’s president and looks to kick off World War III,” per Empire. Butler plays submarine captain Joe Glass, who works along the Navy SEALs to thwart the general.

Original Film’s Neil Moritz will produce with his partner Toby Jaffe, with Relativity and Millennium Films on board to fully finance, and talks continue to secure a director. After months of fighting in the courts over the fate of the thriller, Moritz said he’s “very happy” all parties were able to resolve “the misunderstanding.” Screen Daily reports that Nu Image will negotiate international distribution with buyers during the European Film Market (EFM), ahead of a scheduled July shoot.

“I’m very happy that we have resolved the misunderstanding between the parties,” says Moritz. “I especially want to thank Ryan Kavanaugh for finding a solution that brings ‘Hunter Killer’ back to life. I’m looking forward to working with him and everyone at Relativity Studios to make a great film, and I am sorry we had a miscommunication.”

“‘Hunter Killer’ is going to be a terrific movie, and I’m pleased that we were able to reach an agreement to bring the film to audiences,” said Relativity Chairman and CEO Ryan Kavanaugh. “This is yet another step forward for Relativity in its new iteration.”

Oldman is one of the most celebrated actors — with a diverse career encompassing theatre, film, and television. He long-established a cult following for playing dark, nefarious, but wildly-vivid characters. His credits include playing Lee Harvey Oswald in JFK and Dracula in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which earned him the Saturn Award for Best Actor. Fans adored his performance as corrupt DEA agent Norman Stansfield in Léon: The Professional, as well as the Rastafarian antagonist of True Romance.

Gary’s career was derailed briefly during his long battle with alcoholism, but he found sobriety and bounced back from his personal controversy through blockbusters such as the Harry Potter series, playing James Gordon in The Dark Knight Trilogy, and his performance as George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which earned him both Academy and BAFTA Award nominations for Best Actor.

His high profile relationships and numerous marriages always make headlines. Gary has been married four times, including to actress Uma Thurman in 1990, but the marriage ended two years later. He then fell in love with Italian actress/model Isabella Rossellini, but they separated two years later. After his divorce from Donya Fiorentino in 2001, he was awarded sole legal and physical custody of their two sons. In 2008, Oldman married English singer/actress Alexandra Edenborough, she subsequently filed for divorce in January, 2015. He also has a son with his first wife, actress Lesley Manville.

Oldman’s 1997 directorial debut, Nil by Mouth, was produced by his longtime manager Douglas Urbanski and director Luc Besson. The film was a critical success, winning numerous awards and considered to be one of the best British films. The character-driven piece centers on a dysfunctional family living in South East London. Gary’s sister Maureen (known professionally as Laila Morse) had a role in the film before going on to play Mo Harris in the long-running BBC series EastEnders.

Over recent years, the brilliant character actor has been critical of the Hollywood liberal media and award shows, such as the Golden Globes, which he called “meaningless,” after he was disqualified from Globes consideration for blasting the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Gary Oldman will next be seen in the crime drama Criminal and the sci-fi drama The Space Between Us.

[Images courtesy Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP/Twitter]

Share this article: Gary Oldman Joins Gerard Butler’s Submarine Thriller ‘Hunter Killer’
Gerard Butler Gary Oldman
More from Inquisitr