Christopher Nolan managed to bring one legend to the screen in his star-studded film, The Prestige. But many fans might not have recognized the late musician David Bowie, who starred alongside Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman in the film. In one of his rare film appearances, Bowie played a fictionalized version of the real-life inventor, Nikola Tesla.
Interestingly, Bowie initially turned down Nolan’s offer to take on the role. Nolan eventually turned up on Bowie’s doorstep and convinced him, something which the director had never done for another actor.
Christopher Nolan Had To Convince David Bowie To Take On The Prestige Role
While filming The Prestige, Christopher Nolan revealed that David Bowie was the only guy he had in mind for the role of Nikola Tesla. Nolan specifically wanted a non-movie star to play this character, and he found that Bowie was the perfect choice for the role.
Nolan explained how he convinced the Space Oddity singer to join the film in the book, The Nolan Variations: The Movies, Mysteries, and Marvels of Christopher Nolan. He revealed that when he first approached Bowie, he rejected his offer. However, the Interstellar director knew Bowie’s agent and contacted him to meet the musician directly.
When David Bowie finally agreed to meet Nolan, the director flew to New York and managed to convince him. Nolan revealed that it was the only time he had ever gone back to somebody who turned down his role. He felt that no one could’ve played the part with the same resonance. He shared in the book:
When I tried to cast him, he said no at first, and I knew his agent, so I called him up and said, ‘Look, I never do this, but I want to ask him again. I want to go and try and convince him. Is there any way to do that?’ He agreed to meet me, and I flew to New York and I met him, and, thankfully, managed to convince him.
It’s the only time I’ve ever gone back at somebody who said no, because generally they’ve got their reasons and you don’t really want to convince somebody and then have conflict on-set, but there was just no one who could play the part in the way that he would with the same resonances.
Nolan shared that Bowie’s reputation was the perfect fit for portraying his version of Tesla. He added that The Prestige had a very tangential approach to the character, showing him as a character right out of his time. It was for this reason that Nolan wanted to cast Bowie in the role.
Christopher Nolan Found David Bowie To Be Elusive
Christopher Nolan also shared in the book that he got to know many actors after he worked with them, and they became regulars in Nolan films. However, David Bowie was one actor whom Nolan did not have such a connection. Bowie was just as elusive at the end of the film as he was at the start.
Nolan shared that everyone was fascinated by the singer nevertheless. He also shared that Bowie was friendly with the cast and crew. Talking about the Heroes singer, Nolan said:
Bowie’s the one exception, the only one who was just as elusive at the end of working with him as he was at the start. The whole crew, everyone, was fascinated by the guy. He was being perfectly friendly, I mean a very lovely guy, but he just carries this weight of everything he has achieved.
Andy Serkis, who played Tesla’s assistant, Mr. Alley, in the film, shared that Bowie had a little bit of imposter syndrome (via virginradio.co.uk). He revealed that despite Bowie’s fears about acting, the Ashes to Ashes singer enjoyed the company of other artists in the film.
The Prestige is now available for rent on AppleTV+.
