Ryan Bingham is not Bad Blake. Blake, the protagonist of "Crazy Heart" (portrayed in an Oscar-nominated performance by Jeff Bridges) spends much of the film as a study in self-destruction. He's alcoholic and overweight, with several ex-wives and a son who won't speak to him. His only saving grace is the music he performs at the only venues that will book him: dive bars and bowling alleys.

Bingham, on the other hand, is genuinely affable, fit and clean-cut.

The two do have something in common, however: Bingham, 28, wrote "The Weary Kind," the Blake-performed song that has won several awards this season and is up for the biggest of them all, an Oscar, at the Academy Awards on March 7. (In a coincidence, Bingham has another Oscar connection: He shares his name with George Clooney's character in the Oscar-nominated "Up in the Air.")

During a visit to CNN's Los Angeles bureau, the former rodeo rider said he was excited about the Oscar nomination. He said the process of writing the music for the movie came naturally.

"It felt familiar, this guy, this story. I felt like I could describe him in a way that might be cool," said the New Mexico native.

But did he see himself in the Bad Blake character? "You see a place you don't want to go. That was always in the forefront [of my mind]. I definitely know people like him."

Bingham and his band Dead Horses, who appear in the film as Blake's backing band in the bowling alley, have an outlaw country sound that's not afraid to go from rollicking to reserved, evoking Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle or "Exile on Main Street"-era Rolling Stones. In other words, the perfect soundtrack to the highs and lows of one Bad man.

Bingham, whose own album is due in spring, sat down with CNN in early February. The following is an edited version of the interview.

CNN: How did you get involved with "Crazy Heart"?

Ryan Bingham: I first got involved when my agent sent some of my tunes over to Scott Cooper, the director. We had lunch one day, and he handed me the script. I wrote a few songs for it and got back in touch with him ... and it all started going down.

CNN: What was it about that initial script that made you think "I can do this"?

Bingham: From the beginning I was into it. It's a music story. This character Bad Blake just reminded me of so many people. Either you know him or you are him.

CNN: What did T-Bone Burnett and [the late co-producer] Stephen Bruton bring to this project?

Bingham: They are legends. You learn a lot just being a fly on the wall and seeing [the process] they go through.

CNN: T-Bone mentioned a sort of musical séance in his house in L.A. when you all convened for the first time. Take us through that.

Bingham: The first time I went over there, T-Bone, Bridges, Scott Cooper were all there. We would all bring in these tunes. Everybody would sit around and read them over, and suddenly everybody is coming up with one-liners. And we were all writing all this stuff down quickly. It was pretty cool. (laughs)

CNN: That's a uniquely collaborative way to write. Had you ever done that before?

Bingham: No, I never had. It was a great experience for me because I would write something and get to where I know what I wanted to say, but I just didn't know exactly how to put it. So it's great having somebody like T-Bone, for example -- on "Weary Kind," on that last line he was saying, "That's cool but if we just rework it this way. ..." It brought a whole new meaning even with just that one line.

CNN: What led to the creation of "The Weary Kind" in particular?

Bingham: Just that character, Bad Blake. I wrote that one before I even sat down with T-Bone and those guys. The story was all right there in front of me.

It was interesting to me because I had never written a song for a movie or a character. In a way, it's easier because you've got something to go off of. You're just trying to conjure something up out of that.

CNN: How do you think Jeff Bridges did performing your songs?

Bingham: I was blown away. I heard that he played music, but I had never heard it personally. The first time I heard it ... his presence ... he's got that thing about him that grabs your attention. He's a real genuine guy, and he comes from a good place in his heart. Honest and true.

CNN: What about being up on the screen with him -- the bowling alley scene?

Bingham: It was awesome. He's a laid back and cool guy. His attitude is "let's have fun and make a movie."

CNN: You got some pretty high praise coming up in the Austin, Texas, scene from guys like Terry Allen and others. Did anything prepare you for this storm of success?

Bingham: (Laughs) Well, the un-success prepares you for the success. Playing all those s---hole bars, being background music, playing parking lots. That can put you in your place real quick.

CNN: Is there anything in being a rodeo rider that prepares you for being a songwriter?

Bingham: Yeah. There's a lot of things that have prepared me for it. When you're standing on the back of one of those bucket chutes and they start loading those bulls up the alley and the horns are so wide that they have to turn their heads just to get through there. These big massive beasts rolling in there. It's intense. You really have to focus and grit your teeth and go at it.

CNN: Much like being on stage, I'd imagine.

Bingham: Same thing. Big stages, lights, cameras. I always think about it -- like standing on the back of the chute. Time to go big or go home, you know! (Laughs)

CNN: You got a pretty big bull to ride in about a month at the Oscars.

Bingham: (Laughs) I know, I need to start working out for that one! Pump some iron. But you have to look at it as just another gig. It's much bigger than anything I've ever played, but at the same time it's the same song. Just playing for people.