Star director Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer) has collaborated with numerous Hollywood stars throughout his career. However, three actors seem to have particularly impressed him with their talents.
Christopher Nolan is known for his visually stunning films with complex storytelling. With titles like Interstellar, Tenet, Dunkirk, the The Dark Knight trilogy, and most recently Oppenheimer, he has thrilled (and confused) audiences.
Although he has already worked with many well-known names like Christian Bale or Matthew McConaughey, three acting talents seem to particularly inspire him. He praised them during interviews as the best in their fields.
Here you can see a trailer of Oppenheimer:
Oppenheimer lead actor Cillian Murphy
Many of you may know Cillian Murphy from the series Peaky Blinders. In Oppenheimer, he received the lead role from Christopher Nolan as American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who is regarded as the “father of the atomic bomb”.
In an interview with Total Film, the director praised the actor not only as the best in his age group but as one of the best overall:
“I have always known, since I first met him – however many years ago that was, almost 20 years – that he is one of the great actors, not just of his generation, but of all time.” (via gamesradar.com)
Marvel star Robert Downey Jr.
Robert Downey Jr. played, among others, the famous detective Sherlock Holmes in Guy Ritchie’s action film or the celebrated Marvel hero Tony Stark aka Iron Man.
However, as Christopher Nolan explained in the same interview with Total Film, it is often overlooked that he is not only a well-known star but also one of the most talented actors in Hollywood:
“We all know that Robert Downey Jr. is one of the great film stars. It’s so easy to forget that he is also one of the greatest actors of all time. Watching him lose himself in this portrayal and completely immerse himself in a character was an incredible reminder of what a great actor he is.” (via gamesradar.com)
More about Christopher Nolan can be read here by our colleagues at Filmstarts: After hits like “The Dark Knight” & “Interstellar”: This is why Christopher Nolan and his brother no longer work together
The Godfather Al Pacino
Al Pacino is perhaps best known from The Godfather. He also starred alongside Robin Williams in Nolan’s film Insomnia.
As Nolan told Los Angeles Times, a situation with Cillian Murphy reminded him of his collaboration with Al Pacino. He particularly highlighted the excellent performance of the Godfather actor:
“After a series of takes, I went to Pacino and told him what I wanted,” the director recounted.
“He told me: ‘I already did that. You can’t see it, but I did it on the daily roughs.’ I looked for it after and thought: ‘Oh my God,’ because there it was. Great film actors can do that, and that’s exactly what I had with Cillian.”
It is noticeable in the 3 mentions that Christian Bale, with whom Nolan has collaborated so closely on the Batman films, does not receive any extra praise. Bale has been considered a great actor since American Psycho in 2000.
Anyone who was simply confused by Christopher Nolan’s complex storytelling in Tenet can breathe a sigh of relief. Because in an interview, the director revealed that the intention of the film is not for you to understand everything. Instead, you can enjoy it with a big question mark on your face. Why, you can read here at MeinMMO: Good news for everyone who thought they were too dumb for Tenet
