Mention the name Gary Oldman and a slew of, shall we say, morally ambiguous roles spring to mind. The corrupt police officer in Leon, the psycho pimp in True Romance, and Dracula himself are just a few examples of the terror he’s unleashed on screen.

Regarded as an inspiration by his peers, his iconic status was made official at the recent Empire Awards where he was the recipient of the Icon Award.

It seems unfathomable then that he’s never been nominated for an Oscar.

“That’s one of those things,” says a relaxed-looking Oldman, sitting back in his chair, one leg crossed casually over the other.

“I’ve never really given it a huge amount of thought. I’ve not lusted after it,” he says slowly. Very slowly. You sense there’s no rushing Oldman.

After a moment of contemplation, he suggests his lack of a publicist may be a contributing factor for the Oscar omission.

“I like to be in my little hidey-hole, I don’t come out a great deal. I mean did you see Colin Firth’s diary of where he’d been on the road to the Oscars? It’s exhausting.”

A fiercely private actor who hates the notion of celebrity, 53-year-old Oldman has been forced out of self-imposed seclusion in his adopted home of Los Angeles to talk about his new movie Red Riding Hood.

Directed by Twilight’s Catherine Hardwicke, the fairytale’s been given a Gothic, romantic makeover in which the wolf’s been turned into a werewolf and the craggy old Grandmother is played by the glamorous Julie Christie.

As you’d imagine from the woman who discovered Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner, it also boasts a beautiful-looking love triangle in the form of Max (son of Jeremy) Irons, Shiloh Fernandez and Amanda Seyfried.

“Above and beyond anything else I thought it was a lot of fun. It’s Little Red Riding Hood on steroids really,” says Oldman who plays the over-zealous Father Solomon, a werewolf hunter in the vein of Dracula’s Van Helsing.

He prefers to think of Solomon “as a man possessed” rather than a villain.

“He has looked into the abyss and is now absolutely convinced of the righteousness of his mission. He truly believes he is the sword of God... and he has a flair for fashion,” the actor deadpans. Oldman himself is wearing an oddball mix of black frames, beige slacks, a slogan T-shirt emblazoned with ‘Bermuda’, a black cardigan and printed scarf.