Christopher Nolan

Filmmakers

Christopher Edward Nolan CBE (born July 30, 1970) is a British and American filmmaker known for making personal, distinctive films within the Hollywood mainstream. He has received many awards and honours. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2015, and in 2019, he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his services to film. In addition to his filmmaking, Nolan is an advocate for film preservation and the analog medium.

Born and raised in London, Nolan developed an interest in filmmaking from a young age. After studying English literature at University College London, he made his feature debut with Following (1998). He gained international recognition with his second film, Memento (2000), with Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Joe Pantoliano; for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He transitioned from independent to studio filmmaking with Insomnia (2002), with Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and Hilary Swank.

Nolan found further critical and commercial success with The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005–2012), collectively with Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy, Tom Wilkinson, Rutger Hauer, Ken Watanabe, Morgan Freeman, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Other notable films include The Prestige (2006), with Hugh Jackman, Bale, Scarlett Johansson, Caine, Piper Perabo, Andy Serkis, Rebecca Hall, and David Bowie; Inception (2010), with Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Cotillard, Elliot Page, Hardy, Dileep Rao, Murphy, Tom Berenger, Pete Postlethwaite, and Caine; Interstellar (2014), with Matthew McConaughey, Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Bill Irwin, Ellen Burstyn, John Lithgow, Matt Damon, and Caine; Dunkirk (2017), with Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jack Lowden, Harry Styles, Aneurin Barnard, James D’Arcy, Barry Keoghan, Kenneth Branagh, Murphy, Mark Rylance, and Hardy; Tenet (2020), with John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Caine, and Branagh; and Oppenheimer (2023), with Murphy, Emily Blunt, Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Rami Malek, and Branagh.

Nolan’s films are typically rooted in epistemological and metaphysical themes, exploring human morality, the construction of time, and the malleable nature of memory and personal identity. His work is permeated by unconventional narrative structures, practical special effects, experimental soundscapes, large-format film photography, and materialistic perspectives. He has co-written several of his films with his brother Jonathan, and runs the production company Syncopy Inc. with his wife Emma Thomas.

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(*seen originally in theaters)

(**seen rereleased in theaters)