One ofGary Oldman’s most notable villainous roles has recently become a streaming hit. The English actor played Lord Shen in the Oscar-nominated film,Kung Fu Panda 2. Lord Shen was an evil peacock who wanted to rule over China by destroying kung fu for good. But blocking his path is a “warrior of black and white” – Po, the Dragon Warrior.
On August 27, 2025,Kung Fu Panda 2currently sits at #8 on HBO’s Top 10 Moviesin the United States, sandwiched betweenMarc Maron: PanickedandCouples Retreat. This martial arts animated film features a star-studded cast, including the talents ofJack Black,Angelina Jolie,Michelle Yeoh,Seth Rogen,Lucy Liu, andJackie Chan. Since its release in 2011,Kung Fu Panda 2has been the highest-grossingfeature in the franchiseand has received high praise from fans and critics alike. It generated over $665 million at the global box office and received a certified fresh critics' score of 82% and an average audience score of 74% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Kung Fu Panda 2continued where the2008 hit filmleft off, introducing a new villain that Po (Black) and the Furious Five have to face, as well as revealing bits of the Dragon Warrior’s backstory and how he became the adopted son of the noodle chef goose, Mr. Ping (James Hong). The film was nominated for Best Animated Feature at theAcademy Awards. At the same time, Oldman’s role as Lord Shen received a nomination at the Annie Awards for Voice Acting in a Feature Production.
Gary Oldman No Longer Wants To Play Villain Roles
Oldman has played numerous roles in his career, but some of his most notable are when he plays villains. Aside from Lord Shen, Oldman played Ivan Korshunov inAir Force One, Count Dracula in 1992’sBram Stoker’sDracula,Zorg inThe Fifth Element,and Dr. Smith inLost in Space. However, the award-winning actor revealed that he started to see himself asHollywood’s “rent-a-villain"and was tired of beingtypecast for those roles.
Fortunately, Oldman was able to leave that acting archetype and play non-villainous characters like Sirius Black inHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,Commissioner Gordon inThe Dark Knight,Harry Truman inOppenheimer, and Winston Churchill inDarkest Hour, just to name a few. And just like his bad guy roles, Oldman also received recognition for his non-villainous work, like winning Best Actor at the Academy Award forDarkest Hourand being nominated for an Emmy Award for his guest role inFriends.
Kung Fu Panda 2is available to stream on HBO Max.
Kung Fu Panda 2
