Gary Oldman is an English actor who first gained acclaim for playing Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols in the 1986 film “Sid and Nancy,” but he is perhaps more widely known for his roles as Sirius Black in the “Harry Potter” film series and Jim Gordon in the Batman movies. He received his first Oscar nomination this year for his portrayal of George Smiley in the film adaptation of John le Carré’s “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.”

READING Right now I’m reading the Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson. I love when people have a singleness of purpose and don’t get dissuaded. I can connect with that. I can recognize it. I think a lot of artists have that. Art and commerce are not particularly happy bedfellows, but he was the exception.

Image Credit... Giulio Di Mauro/E.P.A.

I read quite a lot of biographies. I like nonfiction. The other book I’m carrying around with me at the moment is “River of Shadows: Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West” by Rebecca Solnit. It deals with the 19th century and the arrival of speed with the coming of the industrial age. We were very much governed by nature before; we were at the mercy of our own speed and horses and the like. It’s interesting to think of living at that pace.