After securing a place to study English Literature at Trinity College Oxford, Oliver became actively involved in the university's dramatic society. Upon graduating he was awarded a scholarship to train at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) and studied there for two years. Upon graduating from LAMDA, Oliver met Gregory Doran - the Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) - and was offered the title role in Shakespeare's "lost play" Cardenio. Doran directed and Ol