Movies

Gary Oldman's Transformation Into Winston Churchill Even Fooled Historians (Exclusive)

By John Boone‍ 8:25 AM PST, February 23, 2018

"Gary doesn't look like Winston Churchill at all," renowned makeup artist Kazuhiro Tsuji declares in this exclusive Darkest Hour featurette. Which makes it all the more impressive that Tsuji's team's prosthetic work was so transformative that it resulted in Oscar nominations for Best Actor and Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling, as well as a Best Picture nod for the film, among other Academy Award recognition. Perhaps the most notable distinction, though, is that historians were even convinced Oldman's Churchill was the real deal.

"I couldn't imagine the transformation would be that extraordinary. It's a shock every time," Kristin Scott Thomas, who stars as Churchill's wife, Clementine, explains. "In fact, we even fooled one of the experts. One of the historians saw the pictures of Gary Oldman as Churchill on the wall and said, 'Ooh, those are interesting! Where did you find those?' And we said, It's the actor!"

Darkest Hour DVD — Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

This behind-the-scenes look -- featuring interviews with director Joe Wright, writer Anthony McCarten and co-star Lily James -- is from one of two featurettes on Darkest Hour's home entertainment release, which look at recreating 1940s London and Oldman's challenges of portraying such a complicated real-life character.

"It was a real privilege, being Winston Churchill," Oldman says in this clip. "There's no one like him!"