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As one of Hollywood’s biggest, most successful, and most talented directors, Christopher Nolan has never had trouble attracting major stars to work with him. He’s routinely been able to call upon A-list actors to play major or minor parts in his movies. Between the critical and commercial success his movies bring, he’s directed four actors to Oscar nominations, with three winning.
Some actors have been lucky enough to work with Nolan multiple times. Michael Caine has been his most frequent collaborator, racking up eight movie appearances. Cillian Murphy has been in six, while Gary Oldman and Christian Bale both stand at four. Others, like Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh, Anne Hathaway, and Matt Damon, have also appeared in at least two Nolan movies.
Hathaway and Damon are among The Odyssey‘s cast members who previously worked with the director, joining Robert Pattinson, Benny Safdie, Himash Patel, and Elliot Page. The majority of the ensemble, though, are fresh faces for Nolan. Tom Holland, Charlize Theron, Lupita Nyong’o, Zendaya, Jon Bernthal, and Mia Goth are among the first-time collaborators this time around.
And while many huge Hollywood stars have never been in a Nolan movie, some of the biggest have only one collaboration under their belts. Jessica Chastain, Timothée Chalamet, Guy Pearce, Florence Pugh, and Andy Serkis are among that group, but the list extends far beyond them to include Academy Award winners, Hollywood icons, and some of the biggest box office stars of the 21st century.
10
Carrie-Anne Moss
For many, Carrie-Anne Moss is best known as Trinity from the Matrix franchise, having debuted as the sci-fi character in 1999. Between her appearances in the two sequels, Moss was cast as the female lead in Nolan’s second feature film, Memento. She plays the mysterious Natalie and was considered for the part initially due to the impression she made as Trinity.
While Moss has been steadily working in the 25 years since Memento, there have never been any reports of her being in consideration for a role in one of Nolan’s other movies. Hopefully she’ll get a chance to reunite with the director at some point down the line.
9
Al Pacino
Al Pacino was already one of Hollywood’s greatest actors by the time he joined forces with Nolan. He’d already won an Oscar (after his eighth nomination) and was synonymous with some of the best movies of all time. After Memento‘s success, though, he signed on to star in Nolan’s psychological thriller, Insomnia, where he played detective Will Dormer opposite another legend.
Rather than becoming a recurring figure in Nolan’s filmography, Insomnia remains the lone collaboration between the director and Pacino. He is still working today, so all hope has not been lost that the Godfather icon could step back onto one of Nolan’s sets in the future.
8
Robin Williams
The comedic genius Robin Williams delivered one of his most unforgettable performances by working with Nolan. Playing against type, he tackled the villain role in Insomnia, portraying Walter Finch, an author who kills a teenage girl and blackmails Pacino’s Dormer to try and get away with it.
Sadly, the actor passed away in 2014 before he had an opportunity to work with the director again. It is unknown if Williams was ever considered to return for another Nolan movie before then.
7
Hugh Jackman
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Hugh Jackman may have spent the majority of the 21st century playing Wolverine in Marvel movies, but when he wasn’t busy playing the X-Men hero, one of his other projects included working with Nolan. He jumped into one of the lead roles in The Prestige, where he played Robert “The Great Danton” Angier, a magician pursuing the secrets to his rival’s biggest trick.
The results of Jackman and Nolan’s partnership were quite excellent, but that has not brought them back together yet. Both the actor and director remain incredibly popular, so perhaps it will be Nolan’s next movie after The Odyssey that unites them at last.
6
Scarlett Johansson
The Prestige is also responsible for the first, and so only, collaboration between Nolan and Scarlett Johansson. While she had already had her breakout role in Lost in Translation, Nolan recognized her talent before her popularity soared after her MCU casting as Black Widow. Johansson played Olivia Wenscombe, an assistant to Angier who falls in love with Borden.
There certainly could have been opportunities for Johansson to land future Nolan roles, such as in Interstellar, but there have never been any reports that she’s been close to such a reunion. With her MCU commitments done, perhaps that will change in the years ahead.
5
Heath Ledger
Heath Ledger stands out as one of Nolan’s greatest collaborators, even though they only made one movie together. His portrayal of Joker in The Dark Knight remains one of the best villain performances in movie history. Ledger became the first actor to win an Oscar for a performance given in one of Nolan’s movies, too.
Ledger tragically passed away in 2008. He would not be on this list if that had not happened, as Joker was expected to have some role in The Dark Knight Rises.
4
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio is a frequent star of Martin Scorsese movies, but he’s also lent his talents to Nolan once. He headlined Inception as Dom Cobb, the memory thief haunted by his wife’s death. Bringing every ounce of his movie star qualities to the original sci-fi blockbuster, DiCaprio proved to be the perfect star for Nolan’s film.
This partnership has yet to continue, and it almost never happened. Nolan offered Inception‘s lead role to Will Smith and Brad Pitt. When they both passed on the opportunity, Nolan pivoted to DiCaprio. They’ve yet to officially discuss working together on another project, but hopefully that will happen, as they remain two of the biggest names in the movie industry.
3
Matthew McConaughey
In the heat of the McConaissance, Nolan arrived to further cement Matthew McConaughey’s comeback. The director cast him as Interstellar‘s lead after seeing 2012’s Mud. Nolan’s sci-fi movie was the capstone to an incredible early 2014 run that included True Detective‘s launch and McConaughey’s first Oscar win. The actor breathed life into Interstellar‘s lead, Cooper, an astronaut trying to save humanity.
Interstellar‘s success gave McConaughey no shortage of opportunities, but a reunion with Nolan has been among them. There’s no indication he was up for roles in Dunkirk, Tenet, Oppenheimer, or The Odyssey. We all just have to keep waiting for McConaughey to say “alright, alright, alright” to another Nolan collaboration.
2
Emily Blunt
By not appearing in The Odyssey, Emily Blunt remains a one-time Nolan star. She got into his circle with Oppenheimer, where she played Kitty Oppenheimer. Blunt earned an Oscar nomination for her performance and established herself as someone who fits very well within Nolan’s movies.
In another universe, Blunt could be a two-time Nolan movie star by now. She was reportedly among the actresses considered to play Ariadne, a role that eventually went to Elliot Page. It’s unknown how close she got in this process or if she was ever up for any other Nolan films. Hopefully, Oppenheimer won’t be the lone time they work together, though.
1
Robert Downey Jr.
After spending a decade as Iron Man in the MCU, Robert Downey Jr. wanted to remind everyone he is more than just a bankable blockbuster star. This led him to land a key role in Oppenheimer, where he played Lewis Strauss. Downey’s powerhouse performance brought him an Oscar win and was seen as a shift to the types of movies he’d make going forward.
While it wasn’t until Oppenheimer that the director and star worked together, Nolan had his eye on Downey for a while. The actor auditioned for Scarecrow in Batman Begins a few years before landing his defining Marvel movie role. Nolan knew Downey wasn’t the right fit for Scarecrow, but he wanted to meet the actor anyway, and kept him in mind for the future. Whether Christopher Nolan comes back to Downey for another role going forward remains to be seen.
- Birthdate
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July 30, 1970
- Birthplace
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Westminster, London, England, UK
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Cooper Hood
Almontather Rassoul
