Gary Oldman, an English actor born on March 21, 1958, was initially selected to provide the voice for General Grievous in the 2005 movie, _Star Wars_: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. Oldman collaborated with the director, George Lucas, to record the character's dialogue; however, he ultimately left the project. This exit was due to issues related to Oldman's union status, which prevented him from participating in productions not sanctioned by the Screen Actors Guild.
Even with his withdrawal from the production, Oldman described his experience of working alongside Lucas as "terrific." Matthew Wood, an employee of Lucasfilm Ltd. who also served as the supervising sound editor for Episode III, later assumed the role. Marcus Hearn's book, The Cinema of George Lucas, which was published just before the film's debut, still attributed Grievous's voice to Oldman.
In February 2014, Oldman mentioned during a Sky Movies interview promoting the RoboCop remake, that he had been contacted about a potential part in the 2015 film, _Star Wars_: Episode VII The Force Awakens. He clarified, however, that a formal agreement was not yet in place, and he would consider the offer during his flight home. Ultimately, Oldman did not appear in the finished film.