Christopher Nolan has been a master of mind-bending concept films. Almost every Nolan movie consists of unique twists and turns that keep the audience on the edge of their seats.
Nolan’s intellectual cinematic capabilities also encompass his track record of being a commercially successful director, blending with his masterful cinematic art. So, by default, many actors have sought to work with the director, at least once in their lifetime.
Guy Pearce Was In Talks To Appear In Batman Begins
Christopher Nolan and Guy Pearce collaborated in the psychological thriller Memento, released in 2000. Pearce played Leanord Shelby in the $40 million movie which became one of the best movies of all time. The Nolan-Pearce pair did well for the indie movie and Pearce’s performance worked like a charm in the success of the movie.
Later, Pearce was in talks to be featured in the $373 million movie, Batman Begins opposite Christian Bale’s Batman. Reportedly, Pearce was supposed to play the role of antagonist, Ra’s al Ghul in the movie, but he was too young for the role. “[Nolan and I] did have a discussion about one of the roles in the first film,” Pearce told Empire. However, both had a mutual agreement to let go of the idea of Pearce playing the character due to the age factor. “But we both decided and agreed that I was too young, so Liam Neeson played the role.”
The actor-director duo has remained friends following Memento. There is no doubt that it was a great movie and Pearce’s performance was top-notch, but Nolan believed that the actor was not appreciated enough for his role in the film.
Guy Pearce On Working With Christopher Nolan
When Pearce received the script of Memento around July 1999, he was blown right away seeing the twist and turns the script was embedded with. “‘Oh wow, this is just fantastic.’ The way in which it’s told is twisted, it’s unconventional, but it also feels very emotional,” Pearce told Empire magazine. “It’s a wonderful script,” he added. Later, he called Nolan to express his enthusiasm after reading the script.
“I was so in love with the script and so in love with the idea of doing it that I just felt I needed to express something. It’s the only time I’ve ever done that. And Chris, in his typical non-committal fashion, wasn’t gonna gush at my attempt at flattery. He just went, ‘Oh right. Okay, well good to know. Thank you.’ And eventually I got offered the film.”
The 55-year-old further said that Nolan is “everybody’s” director. “He’s an art director’s director, a cinematographer’s director, an actor’s director,” The Iron Man 3 actor said, adding that he was glad to have worked with the director. Nolan was, according to Pearce, clever, honest, and humble, but it was his communicative trait that impressed the actor most which was about “what he wanted to achieve and how he was gonna achieve it through the technical channels, how he wanted to shoot it.”
Pearce was also fascinated with Nolan’s method of filmmaking.
“I will take this to my grave: I feel so proud and pleased that I got to have that experience because that doesn’t come along very often. I’ve worked with great people: Ridley Scott, Kathryn Bigelow, Curtis Hanson, and they’re all fantastic, wonderful people, but Chris is unique. A very special human being. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life,” he said.
Guy Pearce recently appeared in the Disney+ drama, The Clearing while Nolan is set to bring one of the most anticipated summer releases of the year, Oppenheimer. Cillian Murphy starrer Nolan’s upcoming movie will hit theaters on 21 July 2023.
Source: Looper
