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A stunning 1986 performance as Sid Vicious announced a largely unknown Gary Oldman as an actor to watch. He made good on that promise with indelible, often volcanic work in movies like "Prick up your Ears," "State of Grace," "JFK," "Dracula," "True Romance," "The Professional," "Immortal Beloved" and "The Contender." In recent years, he became part of the "Harry Potter" and "Batman" series, reintroducing himself to audiences in sympathetic, likable parts.

In 2011, Oldman solidified his status of one of Hollywood's premiere chameleons with his portrayal of George Smiley in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy." Reprising a role made famous by Sir Alec Guinness in a 1979 BBC production of the spy novel, Oldman remains understated and quiet, but powerful nonetheless. The performance earned him a well-deserved Academy Award nomination.

We were thrilled to get Oldman in studio for nearly an hour to talk about "TTSS," his career and even a little sports. THE ENTIRE SHOW CAN BE HEARD HERE , and a breakdown is below with links to specific sections:

- (4:27): Oldman explains his initial terror at following in Guinness' footsteps for "TTSS." A week before shooting began, he debated backing out, but ultimately geared himself up to meet the challenge.

"I viewed it as a classical role that had been played before," Oldman said. "I imagined what it would be like to play Lear or Hamlet and then be measured against all those wonderful actors that had played the role before and that the comparisons would be inevitable... I sort of played a trick on my head. It's all in my head. Yes, Guinness gave this incredible performance. But the dragon, like all dragons, they're in your head and you have to slay them. So I kind of played a trick on myself to get me to walk through the fire."

- (5:30): Oldman explains the differences between playing a iconic character and a real-life icon like Sid Vicious, Beethoven or Joe Orton.

- (14:28): Oldman's "TTSS" role is the polar opposite of what he's spent the majority of a career playing. And that's not by accident. Over the last several years, Oldman's moved away from the eccentric, over-the-top parts that once defined him. In part, because he was concerned about increasingly limited options as a typecast actor. But also because he grew to find these characters dissatisfying on an artistic level, which killed his passion for the craft.

"I was bored," Oldman says. "I was just going through the motions and it just didn't interest me and I lost my love for it. I sort of lost my way a little. I lost my love for acting and did not look forward to it and that was the rut I was in. You deal with sports. There are great players and they're just pitching well or they're not hitting well. ... I found it quite debilitating and boring. I started to sort of hate the job. And I've never really felt [that]. I feel very privileged and very lucky that I do what I do, and it's never, ever really felt like I go into work. Let's face it. And so I went through a patch there."

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In addition to being sports fans, Brian and I are really into pop culture. Movies. Television. And of course, music. Some might even call us "music geeks" or "music snobs," both labels difficult to deny. These passions made it quite fun having Steve Gorman on as a guest. He's got the "music" end covered, having spent 20+ years as the drummer for The Black Crowes. He's also a sports junkie who even has own sports podcast, Steve Gorman Sports! It was only natural that a marathon podcast would ensue.

PODCAST
Andy talks with Steve Gorman, drummer for The Black Crowes and host of Steve Gorman Sports!, about his abandoned love of the Lakers, LeBron James, the state of music in 2011 and the Gods of drumming. Podcast

On the music front, Gorman shared his thoughts on the state of music in 2011, the touring lifestyle and what it's like to share a stage with Jimmy Page. He also talked about wearing musical influences on your sleeve, and why his two drumming gods (Ringo Starr and John Bonham) are actually more similar than your ears might think. Great stuff for anybody who takes their CD collection seriously.

We also talked a lot of NBA, and Gorman offered takes on topics ranging from "The Decision" to the Dallas Mavericks to the mental focus required of an elite athlete. He also discussed Kobe Bryant, and like many folks who don't cheer for the Lakers -- and even, frankly, some who do -- Gorman's not a fan of The Mamba's personality. But unlike some who never warmed up to Kobe, Gorman doesn't use this as an excuse to deny the future Hall of Famer his props:

"I don't want to know him. I don't ever want to have dinner with him, but man, you can't take a thing away from him. You know what I think about him? I think he's somewhere in the world right now working really hard. At this very moment you and I are speaking, he is enraged and he's dribbling a ball with his fingers taped together. Or he's got ankle weights on and he's running through some swamp somewhere holding onto a ball and people are throwing things at him, because he's gotta get ready for the season. I mean, I love that he is as maniacal [as he is]. On the maniac scale, I'd say he's up there with [Michael] Jordan. He's just obsessed with winning and competing. And I love that."

Besides, when it comes to Lakers, Gorman has bigger fish to fry than Kobe, literally and figuratively. From childhood ("Before [Kareem Abdul-]Jabbar," as he notes) until 1996, Gorman was a rabid Laker fan. Ginormous. More than any other team in sports. While working on the Crowes' second album (The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion), Magic Johnson held his press conference to announce his retirement and HIV-positive status. The drummer flat out lost it.

"I had to leave that day," reveals Gorman. "I cried for three hours. I couldn't take it. It was the saddest thing in my life at that time."

With this said, it stands to reason a lot would be necessary to make Gorman turn in his back on the Lakers. Unfortunately, Shaquille O'Neal not only accomplished mission impossible, but on his first day as a Laker:

"They signed Shaq, who I was not a huge fan of. But it was okay, because I appreciated getting another dominant big man. He gets to his press conference. One of the questions comes to him about how many championships do you want to win, or do you see a championship in your future. He sidestepped the question and said, 'I just want to be young, have fun and drink Pepsi.' That was a quote. Look it up.

"That turned into the representation of everything I hated about professional sports in the 90's. It really did. And now it sounds so ridiculous saying it. The truth is, this is another way of saying I didn't have kids yet, because I was still living and dying with adult millionaires that I'll never meet. It wound me up so much that my only response that I felt I could live with was to swear off the Lakers for life.

"That was it, because I couldn't stand the thought [of rooting for Shaq]. And then I made myself feel better every time I saw his free throws down the stretch in the fourth. I was like, 'I made the right choice.' And they didn't win a ring for a few years, so it wasn't like right away, it came back to haunt me. I had a few years to get over it. Or at least pretend I was over it and move on before they truly ascended yet again."

Strong sentiments from Gorman, which prompt the Question Of The Day: Could the Lakers ever sign a player that would make it impossible for you to continue rooting for them?

As a purple and gold card-carrying fan, my answer is no.*

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