Gary Oldman has looked back at his friendship with the late David Bowie, and said that the “world’s gone to shit” since his death.
The music icon and the renowned actor were friends for decades, and remained close until Bowie’s death from cancer in January 2016.
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the Slow Horses star looked back at his relationship with the singer, songwriter, guitarist, actor and rock icon, and revealed one thing that he took from their time together.
“To push the boat out,” he said. “David always said, ‘When you’re wading out into the water and you can feel the sand beneath your feet, you feel safe and calm. But if you just go a little bit farther where your feet don’t quite touch the bottom, you’ll be in a place where you can do your best work.’”
Adding that Bowie was “very, very, very funny”, Oldman said that the two of them bonded initially as they had “similar kinds of backgrounds [and] grew up in similar neighbourhoods” in London in the 50s and 60s. He also added that Bowie was a great source of inspiration to him throughout the years because of his ability to evolve artistically.
“He was always pushing the envelope. He reinvented himself and his music many times,” the Harry Potter star explained. “He was inspiring because he was a great innovator and not afraid to try things. It’s nothing conscious, but that rubs off.”
Looking back at the time since his passing, Oldman said: “Don’t you feel that since he died, the world’s gone to shit? It was like he was cosmic glue or something. When he died, everything fell apart.
“I miss him. Occasionally, I’ll see something, it’ll make me laugh, and I’ll think, ‘God, I wonder what Dave would have made of this’, or ‘Oh, that would have made him laugh’.”
The two worked together multiple times over the years, including starring together in Basquiat – Julian Schnabel’s 1996 film about the American postmodernist/neo expressionist artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. In the film, Bowie took on the role of Basquiat’s friend and mentor, fellow artist Andy Warhol.
In 2013, Oldman also made an appearance alongside Marion Cotillard in the music video for Bowie’s dong ‘The Next Day’, and would later deliver an emotional tribute to the legendary singer at the BRIT Awards shortly after his death in 2016.
“Over his career, David challenged and changed our understanding of the medium, whether in music or in life, he emphasised originality, experimentation, exploration. And in his very unique way, he also reminded us to never take ourselves too seriously,” he said at the time, accepting the Icon Award on behalf of the artist.
“He was the sweetest soul ever, with the best cheekbones, until it was done. David, you were mortal, but your potential was superhuman, and your remarkable music is living on. We love you, and we thank you.”
The following year, to celebrate what would have been Bowie‘s 70th birthday, Oldman performed alongside numerous special guests at a special tribute concert at Brixton Academy.
Dubbed ‘Celebrating David Bowie With Gary Oldman And Friends’, the night saw the actor curate an evening featuring in Bowie’s honour, inviting La Roux, Keane’s Tom Chaplin, Duran Duran‘s Simon Le Bon, members of Spandau Ballet, Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott and many more to the stage. He also opened the evening by breaking out a cover of the 1997 Bowie track ‘Dead Man Walking’.
