Gary Oldman details ‘surreal’ knighthood ceremony at Windsor Castle that left him ‘emotional’

Sir Gary Oldman has revealed he was overcome with emotion when he received his knighthood from Prince Williams at Windsor Castle.

The 67-year-old Slow Horses star, who was named in the King’s Birthday Honours for services to drama, described the moment the title was bestowed on him as “wonderful” and “surreal”.

“I wasn’t nervous but when I got there...It took me a second to find my voice because I was surprised by how emotional I was,” Oldman said.

The actor, who won an Academy Award for his role as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, said, although an Oscar is a “big deal,” anyone who’s been on stage can imagine receiving one.

“You can’t rehearse this,” he told Jessie and Lennie Ware of his knighthood on their podcast Table Manners. “It’s singular. Unique.”

Offering behind-the-scenes details of the knighthood ceremony itself, Oldman said he was told to place his right knee onto a kneeling stool so the Prince of Wales could tap his shoulder with a sword.

“It’s a real magic trick because there’s a gentleman just behind him. He takes the sword and taps and it’s there and it’s gone. It’s like a magician.”

Oldman, who grew up in southeast London added: “It’s emotional. I was more emotional than I thought I would be. It’s a big deal. The journey one’s made from a kid from Deptford to, you know?”

Most recently, Oldman has thrilled audiences as the sardonic Jackson Lamb in Slow Horses, based on Mick Herron’s popular book series.

Across the Noughties and into the 2010s, he appeared in some of the Harry Potter films as Sirius Black, and as Gotham City Police Commissioner Jim Gordon in Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012).

He was lauded for his performance as George Smiley in 2011’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which saw him earn Bafta and Oscar nods.

However, he was unable to secure the lead actor gongs until his role in Darkest Hour, which saw him sweep the 2018 awards season, winning an Academy Award, Bafta and Golden Globe.