Gary Oldman: Beethoven Bitten by Dracula, Cures Acting Bug?

I was going to go to bed, but got an email from a fellow Oldmanophile.

From cinematical:

In what I hope is fleeting, Luc Besson-sort of earnestness, Gary Oldman seems to be fed up with acting. Although he's had some super-successful mainstream stints recently in the Harry Potter and Batman franchises, the spark appears to have dimmed for the actor. He says: "I've had a great career, and I'm very lucky to do what I do. But I've been doing it a long time, and you can get tired. You might say I want to change careers or to do something else." He's tempted to return to the stage, but he fears that it's not just a movie-related disinterest: "I get misty-eyed about it, yeah. And I get offers. My love for acting... It's withered."

It has been 21 years since Oldman had his breakout role as Sid Vicious in Sid and Nancy. While two decades is a decent chunk of time, is it really enough for him to say adios? Since starring as the troubled music icon, he's made a great career, morphing into a myriad of roles -- one of the few chameleons that we actually have in the movie biz. He played Lee Harvey Oswald in JFK, vamped out for Dracula, took on dreadlocks for True Romance, became the maestro for Immortal Beloved, modernized as Zorg in The Fifth Element, played a Russian terrorist in Air Force One, tried a stint as Pontius Pilate on television, played a little person named Rolfe in Tiptoes and of course, he also plays a great Sirius Black and James Gordon. I really can't imagine a movie world without him, although it would be nice to see him in the meaty, gritty films of his past. While shining a bat signal or helping Harry Potter is fun, perhaps he'd feel better about his career if he could sink his teeth into another Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, or Leon.

As an actor, I am saddened by this news, as Gary Oldman is one of the idols that I have held in what is the magic of Range. And I have craved his appearance in any film I have seen.

I was going to add some research on contacting Gary, but I think if he thinks it's done, it's done. If the acting has soured for him, it has soured. And there's no fan-pining we can heap on the man that will change anything. I respect his decision and only pray he can again find joy in the art that I can't even find the time to practice.

Or maybe that's a wakeup to me to stop living vicariously through amazing actors and pining - myself - for things that I could make happen, and making the time for it if I truly wanted to.

But we should weep.

"What's a Drexel?" indeed.