- Christopher Nolan won seven Oscars for Oppenheimer
- He likes to work with the same faces more than once
- A new project from the Inception creator is in production
Christopher Nolan is one of the most significant contemporary directors in Hollywood today.
Last month, it was reported he was working on a new project. Much of the details were being kept under wraps. However, some whispers were revealed, such as casting details.
Like other Hollywood filmmakers, the multi-award winner enjoys working with the same talent again and again. Names floated included Zendaya, Tom Holland and old favourites like Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, and Robert Pattinson.
Read More: Everything we know about Christopher Nolan’s new movie
Stars seem to enjoy working with the director just as much as he enjoys working with them. Hathaway recently told Women’s Wear Daily that the collaboration “makes me feel like I’m doing something right.”
“It fills me with so much joy … I love Chris and Emma Nolan so much, and to be invited into their world [is] one of the best places you can find yourself,” explained Hathaway.
“Getting to be invited twice really felt like something, three felt like it would’ve been greedy, so I never let myself hope that that would happen, and that it has makes me emotional, to be perfectly honest. It makes me feel like I’m doing something right”
Let’s look back and see what talent Nolan likes to keep booking to star in his films.
Michael Caine
Michael Caine is Nolan’s most frequent actor collaborator. The Italian Job star has worked on six roles with him. Their co-credits range from the Batman Trilogy, which included Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises. Caine played the iconic Alfred Pennyworth in this DC-releated franchise.
Outside of this adaptation, Caine has also appeared in The Prestige, Inception, Interstellar, Dunkirk and Tenet.
Cillian Murphy
Cillian Murphy has teamed up with Nolan a whopping five times.
His first go was as Jonathan Crane in the Batman Begin films. This was followed up with Robert Fischer in 2010’s Inception. Four years later, he played Donald Buchanan in Transcendence. In 2017, he was the Shivering Shoulder in Dunkirk.
However, the shining jewel is his Academy Award-winning turn as the titular character in Oppenheimer, the life story of atomic bomb pioneer J. Robert Oppenheimer and the build-up and aftermath of this monumental event.
Kenneth Branagh
Nolan has worked a total of three times with Kenneth Branagh. The first time was in his 2017 war epic Dunkirk as Commander Bolton. He followed up this with 2020’s Tenet and then in 2023’s Oscar darling Oppenheimer.
Anne Hathaway
Anne Hathaway just snagged her third time working with Nolan. She is set to appear in his new film, in which details have been kept under wraps. Already, she has played Selina Kyle’s Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises and Amelia Brand in Interstellar.
Tom Hardy
Three credits with Nolan is another thing that Tom Hardy can boast about. He brought to life Eames in Inception, provided the iconic villain Bane in The Dark Knight Rises and pilot Farrier in Dunkirk.
Matt Damon
Matt Damon is another star who is set to work with Nolan for a magic third time. He has also been named as part of a mystery film that little is known about. Damon’s previous credits with the BAFTA-winning filmmaker are the 2014 space epic Interstellar and Oppenheimer.
Christian Bale
Nolan has cast Christian Bale in two roles in his cinematic outings. Their first link-up was the 2006 psychological thriller The Prestige, where he played Alfred Borden/Bernard Fallon. He was then cast as Bruce Wayne in the Batman Begins trilogy.
Tom Conti
Tom Conti has teamed up twice with Nolan. Initially, they worked together in The Dark Knight Rises as a prisoner. More recently, he took on the role of Albert Einstein in Oppenheimer, the biopic of the physicist.
Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman has had two roles in Nolan’s films: Lucius Fox in the Batman Begins trilogy and Joseph Tragger in Transcendence.
Gary Oldman
Gary Oldman brought to life James Gordon in Nolan’s Batman trilogy and President Harry S. Truman in Oppenheimer.
Robert Pattison
With this new project in the works, Pattinson is bringing his Nolan tally to two. He already starred in Tenet with John David Washington.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Joseph Gordon-Leviit has been in two of Nolan’s works. He played Arthur in Inception and John Blake in The Dark Knight Rises.
Casey Affleck
Ben Affleck’s little brother Casey has worked with Nolan twice. Firstly, he appeared in Interstellar as Tom Cooper. Nine years later, he was in Oppenheimer as Boris Pash.
Thomas Lennon
Thomas Lennon has played two Doctor roles in Nolan films; 2000’s Momento and The Dark Knight Rises.
