'My Work Is Mediocre': Gary Oldman Admits He Would Have Played Sirius Black 'Differently' in the 'Harry Potter' Movies

Gary Oldman thought he could have been better when playing the role of Sirius Black in the Harry Potter movies.

While on the most recent episode of Josh Horowitz's “Happy Sad Confused" podcast, the 65-year-old admitted his acting in the famous book adaptations was not up to his standards.

“I think my work is mediocre in it,” the Oscar winner stated to the host.

Oldman explained that if he had studied J.K. Rowling's tomes more, like late costar Alan Rickman had, he might have done a better job.

“Maybe if I had read the books like Alan, if I had got ahead of the curve, if I had known what's coming, I honestly think I would have played it differently," he shared.

The star, who has been married five times, performed as Sirius Black in 2004's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which made came out in 2007, and he made a cameo in the franchise’s final film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.

Oldman then noted that he often is not fully happy with any of the projects he’s performed in.

"It's like anything, if I sat and watched myself in something and said, 'My god, I'm amazing,' that would be a very sad day,” he said on the podcast. “Because you want to make the next thing better."

Despite the Darkest Hour alum’s confession about his performance in the Harry Potter movies, he expressed his thanks to the franchise, as it advanced his personal life.

While on The Drew Barrymore Show, Oldman told host Drew Barrymore he had turned down opportunities in order to spend time with his children — Alfie, 35, Charlie John, 24, and Gulliver Flynn, 26 — after becoming a single father in 2000.

“Thank God for Harry Potter. I tell you, the two — Batman and Harry Potter — really, they saved me, because it meant that I could do the least amount of work for the most amount of money and then be home with the kids,” he explained.

“At 42 years old, I woke up divorced and I had custody of these boys and so that, in itself, was ... That was hard because there was a shift in the industry where a lot of productions were being [filmed in] — it was Hungary, Budapest, Prague, Australia, you know, all of these places," he added.

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Oldman noted that while filming the Dark Knight trilogy he flew between London and his home in Los Angeles 27 times to be with his kids.