You could hear a collective cheer from the film world when Gary Oldman's Oscar nomination was announced last week. To celebrate, WNYC Radio is hosting a free retrospective of six of Gary Oldman's most famous films.

The screenings, 2 per night from February 6 through 8, will end with Focus Features' Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, where  Gary Oldman will be present for a live Q&A after the film to discuss the role of George Smiley, which finally secured him a nomination. In addition to Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, the other famous Oldman films screened in the series will be Sid & Nancy, JFK, The Contender, Bram Stoker's Dracula and Prick Up Your Ears.

It's hard to believe that this is the first time that Oldman has been recognized by the Academy. Just like the character of George Smiley, the legendary Brit has tackled many famous figures, both real and fictional, in his films, including Sid Vicious, Lee Harvey Oswald, Ludwig van Beethoven, Dracula, Lt. Jim Gordon and Sirius Black.

Many of his original characters have managed to enter the cultural pantheon of cinema nerds everywhere. Who can forget Oldman's flamboyant and menancing turn as Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg in The Fifth Element? Or how about his stellar performance as Drexl in True Romance, a white pimp who thinks he is African-American who messes with the wrong man?

One of the most memorable Gary Oldman roles is that of Norman Stansfield in Leon: The Professional. Oldman gives one of the greatest and most feral performances of his career. Stansfield is a drug addicted, corrupt sleazy psychopath who happens to be DEA. Check out this scene from the Luc Besson film, where he and Mathilda (Natalie Portman) finally meet face to face, after she has sought him out to seek revenge for her murdered family.

Gary Oldman's take on George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is without a doubt one of his most acclaimed roles of his long career. Oldman's quiet and complex performance fits seamlessly into the world that the novels of John le Carré have created. Smiley is a complicated man: he is a calculating, distant spymaster as well as a disllusioned romantic, destroyed that his wife has left him and carried on affairs with other men. His owl-like glasses appear to allow him to see what others can't as he deftly navigates the espionage of his government peers. Oldman bravely tackled the role made famous by Alec Guinness in the British miniseries and has come out with a new interpretation that has been widely praised by audiences and critics everywhere.

All films will play at Landmark Theatres' Sunshine Cinema, located at 143 East Houston Street. Tickets are FREE but you must RSVP through this site.

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