'Desperate measures, desperate times': Oscar winner Gary Oldman reveals the story behind his famously panned movie

Academy-award winner Gary Oldman, who recently received a knighthood from King Charles III has revealed the story behind his role in the "crazy" 2002 film Tiptoes.

The film, in which Oldman stars alongside Matthew McConoughey and Kate Beckinsale, is famously known to be his worst movie and is widely considered a critical failure, according to several film reviews.

In a new interview with Happy Sad Confused podcast host Josh Horowitz, Oldman says his appearance in the famously panned movie came out of desperation.

Watch the video above.

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"I'll be very honest with you, I'd gone through a divorce and a nasty thing with a contract," Oldman explained.

"I was in Hollywood, I ended up in California, in LA, 42 years old, single dad and I was broke.

Oldman explained that at the time he had been out of work for almost two years and was living in a rental with "no furniture" under the Hollywood sign.

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"It was a bit of a rough time," Oldman added, explaining that there was also an actor's strike happening at the time.

It got to the point that Oldman had considered leaving Hollywood as he had been out of work for so long.

"So it was a bit of a rough time and I needed to pay some bills and I needed some money and it was an actor's strike on top of it which was like a double whammy on top of it all," Oldman said.

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It was at that time that Tiptoes came along. In the film, Oldman would play a person of short stature named Rolfe.

"And then this film came along, this crazy idea from this director (Matthew Bright) that I would play a little person and I would play Matthew McConaughey's brother.

In the film, Oldman used a southern accent to match McConaughey's well-known voice and acted on his knees to appear short.

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Oldman laughs as he acknowledges the flop that the film was but said it was a saving grace.

"Desperate measures, desperate times," he joked.

Oldman says he was grateful for the role as despite being "a crazy idea", he "needed to work" but reflecting on whether he would do it again if given the chance, Oldman was hesitant.

"Would I do it now?" Oldman asked himself before hesitating slightly and then answering, "No".

"I helped greenlight the film so it's my fault," Oldman later added.

Oldman made a caveat that there were some positives in that the movie provided work for some actors while there wasn't much available but overall knows it was a famous flop.

"But it's a misfire for sure. Not one I talk about, I'm so glad you brought it up," Oldman joked.

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Title: 'Desperate measures, desperate times': Oscar winner Gary Oldman reveals the story behind his famously panned movie
Sourced From: celebrity.nine.com.au/latest/gary-oldman-reveals-story-behind-his-tiptoes-movie-role/eac5424b-d3a5-47bb-b0d5-fa2f7681b97a
Published Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2025 04:06:00 GMT