Christopher Nolan Biography

Born in London, England, Christopher Nolan always had an attraction to filmmaking. As an eight-year-old living in Chicago, he would make Super 8 films with his friends. He went to the University College in London to study English and joined the institution's Film Society during his stay. "It had 16mm equipment, which is what we actually ended up using on the film (The Following) because I kept in touch with the Society after I graduated."

While an undergraduate, the self-taught director saw his short Tarantella air in the States in 1989. By the mid-'90s, he had hooked up with Jeremy Theobold, who appeared in his shorts, Larceny and Doodlebug. Theobold would go on to produce and star in Nolan's feature directorial debut, Following (1998). The film, which was inspired by a break-in at his flat in London, impressed critics, who felt it was an auspicious debut.

Nolan blew critics and viewers away with his second film, Memento (2001), based on his brother's short story. A plot in which the scenes are shown in reverse order, focussing on a man with short-term memory loss trying to crack a murder case, it wowed audiences on both sides of the pond and earned him many awards, including Independent Spirit Awards for Best Screenplay and Best Director; a Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Screenplay; a London Critics Circle Film Award for British Screenwriter of the Year; an MTV Movie Award for Best New Filmmaker; and nominations from the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards for Best Screenplay. The following year he won a London Critics Circle Film Award for British Director of the Year for Insomnia (2002).

His success and talent led to Hollywood producers offering him the chance to helm the big budget feature Batman Begins (2005), starring Christian Bale as the Caped Crusader. The film was such a huge success that he directed a sequel, The Dark Knight, and will also direct the third in the series. Other projects include The Prestige, with his Batman star Bale teaming up with Hugh Jackman as two competing magicians, and Inception, a thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio. In July 2012, Nolan finally released the final chapter of his Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises. Nolan also co-produced and co-wrote the film, which marked Christian Bale's final run as the caped crusader.

In 2018, for his work on the war film Dunkirk (2017), Christopher received a nomination for Best Director from the Golden Globes and nominations from the Academy Awards in two categories: Best Director and Best Motion Picture.

He wrote and directed Tenet (2020), an espionage thriller based on the concept of time inversion, starring John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki and Kenneth Branagh, but it wasn't until his next film, the biopic Oppenheimer (2023) released, that he received more recognition than ever before. He won Best Director at the Critics Choice Awards and the Golden Globes, as well his first Academy Award for Best Director. The film also won Best Picture at the Oscars for a total of seven Academy Awards overall.

Nolan has four children with his wife, producer Emma Thomas. They make their home in London.

Filmography:

Oppenheimer (2023)
Tenet (2020)
Dunkirk (2017)
Interstellar (2014)
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Inception (2010)
The Dark Knight (2008)
The Exec (2007)
The Prestige (2006)
Batman Begins (2005)
Mr. Hughes (2002)
Insomnia (2002)
Memento (2001)
Following (1998)