I’ve always wanted to be in a Western: Gary Oldman

There have been films revolving around the concept of
post-apocalyptic worlds and there have been stories about religion being used to control people. What makes this one intriguing?
When I read it, I felt like it was a Western. You’ve got the loner and you’ve got Carnegie, who is the alpha dog. He’s like the mayor of this small town. A guy comes in and they have this confrontation and he leaves and I get a posse and I chase him. I’ve always wanted to be in a Western.

Denzel Washington is a producer on The Book of Eli. How was it
collaborating with him?
He (Denzel) was instrumental in developing the Carnegie (Gary’s role) character. He was working with Allen and Albert on the script and acting out these roles and improvising. He was very hands-on from the beginning.

You are definitely not walking the lines of your movies like
Harry Potter, Sid & Nancy and Prick Up Your Ears in this one.
Really, one is at the mercy of the ups and downs of the industry. It’s just the way it’s happened for me. It was great to play Potter and Batman and get away from those characters who eat up scenery.

Talking about Denzel, he has played a lot of sympathetic
characters before like in Training Day. Did you and he talk about casting?
This was somewhat of a change for me after Potter and Batman. It was nice to have an opportunity to come back and chew the scenery a little bit.

How was it working with two directors? Usually, when brothers are together as musicians, they’re always fighting.
Allen is on the floor with the actors and Albert is more technically minded. Albert is quite shy and Allen is the more extroverted of the two. They do fight and they bicker and they call each other filthy names. Then they go away and 10 minutes later they’re chummy again.