The only director Guy Pearce went out of his way to work with: “I don’t mean to be an idiot”
For his major breakout film role, drag queen comedy romp The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Guy Pearce worked with one of Australia’s finest directors, Stephan Elliot,. Since then, he has plied his trade alongside Ridley Scott, Kathryn Bigelow, Todd Haynes, and more, becoming a highly sought-after commodity as an actor. But what about the other way around? Has the Aussie heartthrob ever gone after a director? Yes, once.
According to a chat he had with The Playlist, the only person Pearce has gone out of his way to work with is Christopher Nolan on the movie Memento. “What I can remember from the order of events is I met him, and then I read the script, and then I got to see Following afterward or something. Then I thought, ‘I’m going to call him,’ because I’ve heard that, you know, people say, ‘Oh, my God, I had to hound off this director!’”
He continued the story, explaining that he was very careful not to come across as a crazy person. “I called Chris and said, ‘Look, I don’t mean to be an idiot, but I just really need you to know that I love this and I really want to do it. If it means anything at all, sorry, don’t mean to be a prick,’” he recalled. “And Chris was like, ‘Oh, okay, thank you. All good to know.’ You hear about Val Kilmer sleeping on Oliver Stone’s porch and this sort of stuff. I can’t do that sort of thing, but shouldn’t it just go to the actor who’s best for the role? Not the one who’s the most enthusiastic about it? But still, I gave him a call, and it seemed to pay off.”
Memento was the British filmmaker’s second feature and starred Pearce as a man trying to regain his lost memories. It marked the first time the world took proper notice of Nolan’s unconventional approach to storytelling and Pearce excelled as the movie’s guilt-ridden, panic-stricken protagonist. In 2017, the US Library of Congress chose to preserve it in its National Film Registry, securing its status as a gamechanger.
Pearce admitted to IndieWire that he thought he wouldn’t get the role of Leonard Shelby in the film because it would be too competitive. When he did land the role, he found working with the then-novice director to be an absolute joy. “Chris is extraordinary,” he said. “He has this Kubrick-like precision and a way of making even the most complex ideas accessible. To be on set with him, in that intimate setting, was unforgettable.”
Though he had already established himself outside of Australia with Curtis Hanson’s L.A. Confidential three years earlier, Memento solidified Pearce’s position as a bankable star. It was released the same year as William Friedkin’s war movie Terms of Engagement and just two years before Pearce scored major roles in The Time Machine and The Count of Monte Cristo.
“It’s incredible to see how far he’s come,” Pearce said of his former boss. “Winning Oscars, making massive films like Oppenheimer.” However, like the rest of us, Pearce still has fond memories of the first time he experienced Nolan’s mastery of the screen with Memento. “For me,” he summarised. “It’s still that first experience of seeing his genius up close that stands out.”
