Gary Oldman, Joe Wright on ‘the Icon and the Myth’ of Winston Churchill (Video)

Be careful what you wish for. As Joe Wright started working on “Darkest Hour” in January of 2016, he thought about one day hoping to make a topical film. But Brexit, the American election and the British election weren’t far behind. So surprise! When you’re making a movie about a world leader with immense, populist presence as an orator in a time of global crisis, your movie’s bound to be topical.

Wright’s choice to portray Winston Churchill in the film, Gary Oldman, was drawn to finally play the legendary wartime Prime Minister because of this specific, defining moment in Churchill’s legacy that speaks to our history.

“It’s a man who takes on a racist tyrant, and that’s worth telling,” Oldman told TheWrap’s Steve Pond.