“I’ve grown up watching these guys”: the actors Christopher Nolan called complete legends
Having achieved the status of being one of the most prominent filmmakers currrently in the industry, most actors would jump at the chance of working with Christopher Nolan. Ranging from his collaboration with Leonardo DiCaprio on his mind-bending sci-fi Inception to getting David Bowie to appear as Nikola Tesla on The Prestige, Nolan has extensive experience collaborating with the best.
His track record of landing the biggest names on his projects reached a whole new level with 2023’s Oppenheimer, featuring a star-studded cast that was enough to wow audiences even before the movie was released. Featuring icons like Robert Downey Jr, Cillian Murphy, and Florence Pugh, the Academy Award-winning biopic serves as further evidence that he has considerable star-pulling power.
While it may be understandable that directors reach that stature after years of moving upward through the movie business, Nolan had the chance to work with the best from the beginning. Even in his early years, the Inception filmmaker capitalised on the opportunity of having big names attached to his work when he made the 2002 psychological thriller Insomnia.
Starring the likes of Al Pacino and Robin Williams, Insomnia is an interesting take on the crime genre where the central figure of authority is crippled by moral conflicts. Pacino delivers a standout performance as detective Will Dormer, who is pulled into a strange whirlwind of events after he accidentally shoots his partner.
During a conversation with the BBC, Nolan opened up about the experience of approaching these on-screen titans when commencing work on Insomnia. He said: “I’ve grown up watching these guys on screen; they’re complete legends to me. Going to meet Pacino was really rather scary. But he’s very aware of all the baggage he carries. He’s aware that somebody like me coming into the room for the first time is terrified of him, so he immediately puts you at ease.”
While elaborating on their approach to their craft, the filmmaker also clarified that they viewed the same things from two separate perspectives, which was reflected in the unique work they produced for the movie. Nolan added: “Their methods are incredibly different. They all required different things: different levels of rehearsal, different numbers of takes. What I found is that with really talented actors there’s a very natural, almost unconscious, ability to mesh their style of performance with the other actors. My job is just to help that along.”
Casting Robin Williams as crime writer Walter Finch in Insomnia wasn’t immediately apparent to Nolan, even after a big name like Pacino had agreed to sign on to the thriller. Initially, the Memento director wanted someone who could match Pacino’s energy and on-screen presence, which is how Williams entered the casting discussions. Nolan was not totally convinced about featuring a primarily comedic actor in the role, but his decision eventually paid off because Pacino and Williams elevated the entire movie with their work. It’s just further proof that Williams always had the ability to dish out some serious dramatic performances, Insomnia being on a long list of many.
