The Dark Side of Gary Oldman Revealed: 'Slow Horses' Star Would 'Sweat Vodka' and Drink So Much His 'Tongue Would Turn Black' Before He Won Battle With Booze
Gary Oldman confessed he used to 'romanticize' his alcoholism.
March 21 2025, Published 6:00 p.m. ET
Gary Oldman had a wild ride to sobriety before deciding to check himself into rehab nearly 30 years ago, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The Slow Horses star admitted his alcoholism was so out of hand he would regularly "sweat vodka" and his "tongue would turn black," but he still lived in "denial" about his disease.
Oldman admitted he became an alcoholic early in his life.
Oldman, who turned 67 on March 21, has been open about his rambunctious life before a stint in rehab in 1994 following a 1991 arrest for drunk driving.
He had his last sip of alcohol in 1997 and has been sober for 28 years. Oldman has praised Alcoholics Anonymous for helping aid his recovery.
The Oscar winner explained he became a raging alcoholic early in life and tapped into his experience while portraying Citizen Kane screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz – who also struggled with alcoholism – in 2020's Mank.
The 'Slow Horses' star was arrested for drunk driving in 1991.
He told the Los Angeles Times: "When I was drinking, I was working and I was remembering lines, so you feel you're getting away with it, though, deep down, beneath the denial, you know.
"Herman, with that self-effacing humor, he was at lunch, drinking with a friend, who said, 'Why don’t you go home sober for once?' And he answered, 'What? And have (wife) Sara throw me out as an impostor?' I did the same thing.
"I would sit down and tell the waiter, 'I'll have a large vodka tonic. And can you bring it now because I'm an alcoholic. I need it quicker.'"
The movie star checked himself into rehab in 1994.
The 67-year-old described being in the throes of alcoholism as a living "hell."
He said: "I used to sweat vodka. It becomes such a part of you. My tongue would be black in the morning. I blamed it on the shampoo.
"I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy, to be in the grip of it. It's hell.
"And that self-effacing humor? That's just there to mask the inadequacy."
Oldman further confessed he often "romanticized" alcoholism because all of his "heroes were drinkers or opium addicts."
He said: "All my heroes were drinkers or opium addicts, and you get all misty-eyed about these poets and playwrights and actors who were big drinkers.
"That great line, Dorothy Parker: 'I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.' I think it may have been Brendan Behan who said, 'I'm an alcoholic with a writing problem.' Now that's witty.
"Great lines. But you can't separate the two. Scott Fitzgerald said, 'You take the first drink, and the drink takes you.'"
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The Oscar-winner has been sober since 1997.
While reflecting on his recovery, Oldman recalled the David Bowie lyric, "planet Earth is blue, and there's nothing I can do," which he considered "one of the most profound lines" that has helped his mindset towards drinking.
He explained: "That is it right there for me. There's nothing I can do. That's the thing where you sometimes drink because you need something habitually.
"You’ve got to clear the fog. And finally you go, 'There’s nothing I can do about that. No matter what I feel, a drink's not going to do it.' Such a wonderful, simple line."
