Born July 30, 1970 in London, England, Christopher Nolan is the son of a British advertising executive and an American flight attendant and English teacher. He holds dual British and American citizenship as does his younger brother and sometimes collaborator, Jonathan.

Nolan began making short films with his father’s Super 8 camera when he was 7. His primary influences were 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars.

After obtaining his degree in English literature in 1993, Nolan worked as script reader, camera operator and director of corporate videos and industrial films. He married his college sweetheart, Emma Thomas, in 1997 with whom he has four children. Emma has been a producer on all his films.

Nolan’s first film was 1998’s Following. His second was 2000’s Memento which was nominated for 2 Oscars, one for its screenplay cowritten by Nolan and his brother Jonathan.

Next up was Insomnia, Nolan’s remake of the 1997 Norwegian film of the same name with a cast led by Oscar winners Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and Hilary Swank. He followed that with 2005’s Batman Begins, the first film in his Dark Knight trilogy starring Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, and Morgan Freeman. It was nominated for an Oscar for its cinematography.

2006 gave us Nolan’s The Prestige starring Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Scarlett Johanssen, and Michael Caine. It was nominated for Oscars for its cinematography and art direction. His 2008 return to the Dark Knight trilogy gave us The Dark Knight itself which was nominated for 8 Oscars and won two for supporting actor Heath Ledger and sound editing. Bale, Caine, and Oldman reprised their roles from the first film in the trilogy, Aaron Eckhardt was added to the cast, and Maggie Gyllenhaal replaced Katie Holmes.

Nolan’s 2010 film, Inception was also nominated for 8 Oscars including his first for Best Picture. It won four for cinematography, sound mixing, sound editing, and visual effects. Nolan was himself nominated for writing the screenplay and producing the film.

Nolan concluded his Batman trilogy with 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises. In 2013, he wrote and produced, but did not direct Man of Steel starring Henry Cavill as Clark Kent aka Superman. In 2014, he wrote, produced, and directed Insterstellar which was nominated for 5 Oscars and won Visual Effects. In 2017, he performed the same duties on Dunkirk which received 8 Oscar nominations and won three for film editing, sound mixing, and sound editing. Nolan was himself nominated for producing and directing the film.

Nolan’s most recently released film, 2020’s Tenet won an Oscar for visual effects. It was also nominated for its production design.
Up next for Nolan is 2023’s Oppenheimer. He is one of our top film makers at 72.

CHRISTOPHER NOLAN AND OSCAR

• Memento (2001) – nominated – Best Original Screenplay
• Inception (2010) – nominated – Best Picture
• Inception (2010) – nominated – Best Original Screenplay
• Dunkirk (2017) – nominated – Best Picture
• Dunkirk (2017) – nominated – Best Original Screenplay

ESSENTIAL FILMS

MEMENTO (2001)

Guy Pearce gives an unforgettable performance in Nolan’s film about a man who can’t form new memories, a little known but real disease. The last thing he remembers is his wife’s murder. The story moves forward in two directions – as it is being lived by Pearce’s character and as he remembers things leading up to his wife’s murder. It was based on a story by Nolan’s brother Jonathan, but Christopher’s screenplay is considered an original because the story itself wasn’t published until after the film was released. Both brothers were nominated for Oscars for the screenplay.

THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY (2005-2012)

Over the course of eight years in three films, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises, Nolan delivered the definitive trilogy of the first part of the 21st Century. His darker interpretations of legendary fictional characters led by Christian Bale as Batman made an indelible mark on not just Batman but James Bond as well as that series, taking a cue from this one, turned darker with 2006’s Casino Royale. Heath Ledger won a posthumous Oscar for his portrayal of The Joker in 2008’s The Dark Knight.

INCEPTION (2010)

Nolan’s one-of-a-kind film about dream sharing is more complex and multilayered than any of his previous works. Both Nolan and his producer wife credit star Leonardo DiCaprio with improving the script to make it more of a character study than it started out as. DiCaprio delivers one of his stronger performances in the lead, but there is also fine work from Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Cillian Murphy, Ellen Page, Ken Watanabe, Tom Hardy, Tom Berenger, Michael Caine, Lukas Haas, and Pete Postlethwaite among others. The Academy was duly impressed, giving it 4 Oscars, the most of any Nolan film to date.

INTERESTELLAR (2014)

Like Inception and his last two Dark Knight films, Nolan focused on as may real environments as possible in this time travelling outer-space drama. Visual effects were created in advance and projected onto screens placed outside the spacecraft set so that when the actors looked outside, they would see the world they were supposed to be in. The screenplay by Nolan and his brother is based on the works of theoretical physicist Kip Thorne who was a consultant on the film. Nominated for 5 Oscars, the film starring Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway wo for its special effects.

DUNKIRK (2017)

Nolan’s recreation of the May/June 1940 evacuation of allied soldiers from Belgium, the British Commonwealth, and France in the French port surrounded by German soldiers was told from three points of view: on the beach with the infantry, the evacuation by the Navy, and then in the air. The first section took place over the course of a week, the second over the course of a day, and the third within one hour. Nominated for 8 Oscars including Best Picture, Nolan received one for producing and his first for directing. The film was also nominated for cinematography, production design, score, and won for film editing, sound mixing, and sound editing.