Gary Oldman slithered back into theatres this week (does he move any other way?) with yet another complex character study, the type of role that gives the actor a chance to gnash his actorly teeth with gusto.

His chameleonic role as a double-agent in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is a typically odd choice for Oldman, though not an entirely unexpected one. He has been turning his back on tradition for the better part of his 30-year career, delivering one fine performance after another, mostly out of mainstream view. From Count Dracula to Sid Vicious, he has range, indeed.

With his latest role, Oldman could warrant the first Oscar nomination of his career. That's long overdue recognition, as evidenced by these 10 stellar films featuring Oldman.

1 The Contender (2000). In his performance as a Republican Congressman with a nasty hidden agenda, Oldman uses everything in his arsenal for effect, from the slightest verbal tick to the most obvious facial gesture. The performance comes to a head during a lunch scene with Joan Allen, a vegetarian who is forced to watch Oldman as he gleefully licks the steak juice from his lips, unwilling to accept that his way could be anything but the right way.

2 Sid and Nancy (1986). His role as the not-long-for-this-world Sid Vicious is one of Goldman's finest and widest ranging, the type of showcase that most often finds its way to Johnny Depp or Brad Pitt these days. Oldman does exceptional work as the ill-fated bassist of the Sex Pistols, whose never-say-die attitude winds up killing Vicious (at the age of 21) in a haze of drug abuse. Oldman often stops at nothing in his performances, but his turn in Sid and Nancy certainly ups his level of commitment a notch or two.

3Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1990). To the uninitiated, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead might seem a touch in love with the idea of itself. A deeper look reveals plenty of meritable moments. First among the upsides is Oldman's performance as Rosencrantz, one of two central characters (Guildenstern is played by Tim Roth) who talk ad nauseam in hilarious fits and starts in Tom Stoppard's quirky play, which became a playwithina-movie.

4 Léon (1994). By going over the top and then some, Oldman gives the silver screen one of its great villains - a crooked cop in Luc Besson's masterful Léon. Too many disparate elements kept The Professional (as it was known on these shores) from being fully effective, a criticism that does not extend to Oldman's almost comical scenes as a Beethoven-loving, pill-popping killer with a badge.

5 State of Grace (1990). At the core of this gritty, New Yorkbased crime film is a pitch-perfect Oldman, whose Jackie Flannery outshines the fine work of his costars, Sean Penn and Ed Harris. Though he's working with traditional mob-film dialogue, Oldman peppers his speech with a streetwise realism that makes him a loathsome loose cannon not unlike Robert DeNiro in Mean Streets.

6 True Romance (1993). Two words: Drexl Spivey. The name alone will delight cineastes with a fondness for quirky Quentin Tarantino characters, one of the best being Oldman's cacophonous white-boy pimp from Tarantino's first screenplay. With a ludicrous set of dreadlocks, gold fronts and a stream of gangsterspeak, Oldman devours everything in sight in just seven minutes of screen time.

7 The Dark Knight (2008). Oldman has turned in two superb performances as Gotham City Police Sgt. Jim Gordon, one of the few voices of reason and conscience in Christopher Nolan's Batman franchise. His third turn as Batman's trusted friend - a role he took to spectacular heights in The Dark Knight - is due this summer. Don't expect anything less than top-shelf Oldman.

8 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004). Though he's an unlikely candidate for inclusion in two of the biggest franchises of the modern era, Oldman has acquitted himself nicely not only in the Batman series but also the billion-dollar Harry Potter industry. Oldman's first of four appearances as Sirius Black, the godfather of Daniel Radcliffe's Harry Potter, introduced his work to a new audience of young filmgoers. Given his abilities as a peerless character actor, it should be the beginning of a beautiful PG friendship.

9 Dracula (1992). Though it borders at times on camp, Oldman does a fairly bang-up Count Dracula, creepy sneer and all. He plays it over the top, as usual, but that never seems out of place. Francis Ford Coppola's film, while visually rich, is almost laughable in its desire to be taken seriously, but acting challenges hardly scared off Oldman in the past. In Dracula, he does lots with little.

10 Romeo Is Bleeding (1993). Don't expect to love this unevenly paced film, but prepare to be electrified by another disturbing and diabolical turn from Oldman, who plays a corrupt cop with all sorts of issues. Assassin Lena Olin seduces, then rejects, then attempts to kill Oldman in what Variety critic Todd Phillips called a slice of "noir camp." It ain't easy being sleazy, but Oldman delivers.

mdevlin@timescolonist.com