Christopher Nolan Is a Surprise Super Fan of This Mega Action Franchise

Christopher Nolan‘s cinematic style has been compared to many filmmakers and genres — the works of Stanley Kubrick, Ridley Scott, and Steven Spielberg, for example. But few would associate the director with The Toretto Family! And yet the Oscar-winning auteur made the proud revelation during an interview in 2024 that he loves the Fast and Furious franchise, news that may be shocking to fans who perhaps associate him with a more refined style of cinema.

In fact, it’s one of several pop culture phenomena The Odyssey filmmaker has expressed his affection for, and it just goes to show the breadth of knowledge he and fellow masters of cinema can boast.

Christopher Nolan is One of the Family

During a discussion about film with Stephen Colbert, the TV host asked him if it was true that his “guilty pleasure” was the Vin Diesel-fronted series. “I have no guilt about being a fan of the Fast & Furious franchise,” Nolan replied, before adding: “A tremendous action franchise … I watch those movies all the time, I love them.”

He then gave his advice to Colbert, who had never seen the films, about what order to watch them in, advising him to start with The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift as a taster for the franchise, before moving through the rest of the series. The 2006 film was the third movie released but served as a standalone story separate from the other films, later revealed to be set between the sixth and seventh movies.

The conversation made headlines, and it appeared that the admiration was mutual. Shortly after Nolan’s interview, Vin Diesel posted on Instagram about being introduced to Nolan through his close friend Michael Caine, whom the director has worked with many times. “I am proud of what he manifested in Oppenheimer,” the star wrote, “to find drama in these often-obscured parts of our human history… wow.”

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The Oscar Winner Has Some Unexpected Favorite Movies

The Fast and Furious franchise aren’t the only movies you might be surprised to hear Nolan enjoys. While calling into the Rich Eisen Show in 2023, he offered the 2006 comedy Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby as his “remote drop” movie — a film that makes you put down the remote control while flicking through channels. He also included the 1994 action movie Speed in a curated season of movies for the British Film Institute, and named Gladiator II his favorite movie of 2024.

While many expressed their surprise at the choices, there are elements of all these movies that would appeal to Nolan’s sensibilities: the time-centered drama of Speed, the visual majesty of the Gladiator sequel, and even the myth-making of Talladega Nights. With this in mind, the draw of the Fast and Furious movies becomes a little clearer. The maximalist storytelling, vast world building, and approaching fantastical ideas with sincerity all play in part in Nolan’s own work. While the space travel in Interstellar may be more mathematically considered than Tyrese Gibson and Ludacris shooting a car into orbit in F9, the ambition of the movies is surely something he would approve of.

Nolan’s Eclectic Tastes Mirror Some Other Great Directors

Some of Christopher Nolan’s most obvious influences were also known for loving movies that wouldn’t necessarily reflect their artistic style. Stanley Kubrick, one of Nolan’s chief influences, considered the 1991 comedy White Men Can’t Jump one of his favorite movies ever. Terrence Malick has talked about his love of Zoolander, while Quentin Tarantino went as far as writing a 20-page essay on Superman Returns, such was his affection for it. Like Nolan, these movies have something that these great storytellers respond to, regardless of what their legacy may suggest.

So, does this mean Christopher Nolan will follow up The Odyssey by entering the world of fast cars and espionage? Probably not, but that’s not the point. His love of the Fast and Furious movies illustrates that true filmmakers love film, in all its different shapes and sizes. While the action franchise may not be considered high art by many, there is a sense of excitement and fun to the movies that have made them one of the most successful franchises of all time. Nolan knows better than anyone that popular cinema doesn’t have to conform to a particular blueprint, and there has to be something to them that keeps millions, including him, coming back for more.