Inside Slow Horses star Gary Oldman's life off-screen from five marriages to royal snub

As Slow Horses returns for season 4, Express.co.uk takes a look back at the Apple TV show’s star Gary Oldman and his eventful life off-screen.

Gary is a celebrated actor, famed for such roles as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, Sirius Black in the Harry Potter franchise and James Gordon in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy.

The Hollywood star, 66, has enjoyed a glittering career extending across four decades, first receiving an Oscar nomination back in 2012 for his role in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

Since then, he has received a nomination for his lead role in 2020’s Mank and won an Oscar for Best Actor following his performance in 2017’s Darkest Hour.

He is also known for his versatility, previously portraying characters as diverse as Sid Vicious, Beethoven and Dracula.

While things are all going well for Gary, who plays Jackson Lamb in Apple’s Slow Horses, it wasn’t always smooth sailing for the actor.

He was known to tackle every role with intensity but, by his own admission, suffered burn-out as a result and took to drinking.

The star had to check into rehab and was even once held overnight at an LA police station on suspicion of drunk driving.
As well as suffering from alcoholism, Gary also experienced a lot of turmoil in his home life, including his marriage.

His first marriage to British actress Lesley Manville lasted just three years between 1987 and 1990.

He later tied the knot with Pulp fiction star Uma Thurman in 1990, but they divorced two years later in 1992.

In 1997, he found new love with ex-wife number three Donya Fiorentino after they met at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, but their relationship broke down four years later.

The actor then took a break to focus on fatherhood for a while, before marrying once more in 2008.

Seven years later, his divorce from Alexandra Edenborough, who is 20 years his junior, was apparently amicable.

In 2017, Gary got hitched for a final time to writer and art curator Gisele Schmidt, and the pair have remained happily married.

In a very recent interview with the BBC, Gary was also quizzed on why he hadn’t yet received any royal honours, despite his many acting achievements.

In contrast to celebrated British actors like Sir Anthony Hopkins, Sir Daniel Day Lewis and Sir Kenneth Branagh, he told the publication he had been totally overlooked by the honours system.

“I don’t know why,” he said. “You should ask them. No nod from the royals, but there we are.”

Gary is the only British winner of best actor or best actress in the 21st century not to be the recipient of some kind of honour - and he claims he’s never turned one down.

“Maybe it’s in my future,” he added hopefully.

The first episode of Slow Horses season 4 will launch on Apple TV+ this Wednesday, September 4.