Celebrity friendships are always interesting to hear about, but Gary Oldman and David Bowie's friendship was one of the longest and continues to be one of the most loyal.
Come on, two icons in one friendship? Can that even be possible? That's just too much star power for us to handle. Yet the pair had such a close relationship that it has exceeded death.
We might have lost Bowie five years ago, but that hasn't stopped his friendship with Oldman from going on. The actor has been working tirelessly on keeping the artist's legacy alive, along with his family.
Here's what their relationship was like, and how Oldman continues to be a loyal friend, even after Bowie's death.
They Met In The Late '80s
Both being raised in South London, the pair already had a lot in common by the time they met in the late '80s. They'd both had hard childhoods and had past experiences with addiction.
They met in a chance encounter at London’s Duke of York theatre and immediately became close friends.
"A friend of mine had been in a play and I went backstage after the performance and Dave walked in," Oldman told The Daily Mail, in 2014. "We got talking, then we all went to dinner and by the time we got to cigarettes and coffee, as you did in those days, we did the chair-swapping and I got chatting with him.
"We got on really well. He comes from the same part of the world as I do. I didn’t want anything from him, he didn’t want anything from me."
By that time in 1988, Bowie was already an icon, of course, but Oldman had yet to really breakthrough as a successful actor.
Still, Bowie was clearly intrigued by Oldman, as unknown as he was. "Dave said, 'This is where I’m staying, under this name, give me a call,'" Oldman continued. "Which I didn’t do!"
"But then a couple of months later he called me. He was taking a break and doing some writing on Mustique, where he had a house at that time. He said, 'Come over, I’ve got a spare room.' My son Alfie was only five months old at that time, but we went. And it was fantastic. Dave is a really nice guy.
"I see him less as 'David Bowie' and more as Dave from Brixton and I’m Gary from New Cross. I was a fan of his music and I still am. We’re just mates."
They've Had A Couple Of Collaborations Over The Years
The friends had their first collaboration in 1995 when they sang a duet of Bowie’s "You’ve Been Around" for guitarist Reeves Gabrels' album The Sacred Squall Of Now.
The next year, they both appeared in Julian Schnabel’s film, Basquiat, where Bowie played Andy Warhol.
In 2013, Bowie and Oldman caused some controversy within the Catholic community after they collaborated on Bowie's music video for "The Next Day." In the video Bowie plays a Christ-like character while Oldman plays a priest, who takes a woman into a brothel. Marion Cotillard also appears.
It caused such a commotion that YouTube had it temporarily banned, but Oldman was just happy to help a friend out.
"Dave just shot me an email, out of the blue, saying, 'Do you want to come and play a priest for a day?'" Oldman said. "It was all done for a sandwich and a bottle of pop. We actually shot it in a place that’s about ten minutes from my house. There was no money in it."
"People can make what they want of it, that’s the point of a video like that. He’s an artist, he makes you think."
Besides, who would turn down the chance to star in a David Bowie music video?
Oldman Is Keeping Bowie's Legacy Alive In More Ways Than One
During the 2016 BRIT Awards, just after Bowie's death, Oldman accepted his friend's BRITs Icon Award and shared some good memories he had with the rockstar.
"I am so deeply touched and honored to be here tonight to accept this award for David and his family," Oldman said in his speech.
The day after what would have been Bowie's 74th birthday this year, Oldman joined Bowie's friends, collaborators, and other celebrities he inspired in singing some of the artist's songs during a live stream event. Oldman sang "I Can’t Read."
It's sad that Oldman lost one of his dearest friends, but it's heartwarming to see just how much he's willing to do in honor of Bowie. All Oldman has to do to see Starman, though, is look up at the stars.