Christopher Nolan is now one of the most celebrated and revered filmmakers working in Hollywood today. His most recent movie, the critically-acclaimed Oppenheimer, grossed a staggering $975 million worldwide last year, despite being a three-hour, R-rated historical drama. Nolan himself is now a draw for audiences, and there's a great deal of anticipation regarding his upcoming film, which is set for release in 2026.
Though the casts in Nolan movies have been quite varied since the director's big break with Memento in 2000, there are some actors who have cropped up in his films multiple times. Christian Bale, for example, starred in Batman Begins in 2005 before starring in The Prestige the next year. Michael Caine, too, has appeared in The Prestige, the Dark Knight trilogy, Inception (2010), Interstellar (2014), Dunkirk (2017), and Tenet (2020). Robert Pattinson, who starred in Tenet, is now also set to join the two-timers club with Nolan's upcoming movie.
Guy Pearce Was Barred From Working With Christopher Nolan
A Warner Bros. Executive Prevented A Reunion
After starring in Nolan's Memento, Guy Pearce reveals that a Warner Bros. executive prevented him working with the director again. Released in 2000, the mind-bending thriller stars Pearce as Leonard, a man suffering from a condition that prevents him from forming new memories who embarks on a mission to find his wife's killer. The film was a modest box office success and earned positive reviews, but Pearce and Nolan have yet to work together on another project.
Christopher Nolan explores the nature of memory in his mystery-thriller Memento. Here's a breakdown of the movie's timeline and what its ending means.
During a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Pearce reveals that the reason he hasn't worked with Nolan since Memento is because he found himself the target of a Warner Bros. executive's dislike. According to Pearce, the executive made his feelings known in a frank conversation with his agent, and it meant that roles in Batman Begins and The Prestige were off the table. Check out Pearce's comment below when asked if he stays in touch with Nolan:
Not really, but he spoke to me about roles a few times over the years. The first Batman and The Prestige. But there was an executive at Warner Bros. who quite openly said to my agent, “I don’t get Guy Pearce. I’m never going to get Guy Pearce. I’m never going to employ Guy Pearce.” So, in a way, that’s good to know. I mean, fair enough; there are some actors I don’t get. But it meant I could never work with Chris.
Warner Bros. did not respond to
Vanity Fair
's request for comment.
Why The Door Is Open For Collaboration Once More
Nolan had a long-running partnership with Warner Bros. that ended in 2020. Following Tenet's disappointing box office performance, the company decided to send all of its theatrical films scheduled for 2020 straight to Max due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Nolan shared some harsh words about Max, calling it the "worst streaming service," and he subsequently took Oppenheimer to Universal Pictures. Nolan's untitled next movie is also at Universal.
It's not clear if the executive Pearce is referring to is still at Warner Bros., but if Nolan stays at Universal for his future projects, it's entirely possible a reunion with Pearce could be on the cards. Whether this happens will seemingly depend on whether any future Nolan film has a part that Pearce is right for. Pearce's comment does, however, speak to the power that executives have in Hollywood, even over well-known actors like Pearce.
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