The actor Christopher Nolan described as “magical”
When it becomes abundantly clear who the very best directors in the industry are, suddenly, everyone wants to be a part of their projects. Such is self-evident in the movies of classic filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino and Kelly Reichardt, but is also true of more contemporary icons, with Denis Villeneuve, Wes Anderson, and Christopher Nolan, with the latter having worked with a range of influential stars.
Even at the very start of his career, Nolan had a remarkable ability to attract the attention of some of the best actors in the industry, collaborating with Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano in his first major movie, 2000’s Memento. Soon after, the first addition to the director’s Batman trilogy would see him working with the likes of Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman, contemporary icons of their craft.
Decades later, Nolan boasts one of the most impressive filmographies in modern cinema, as well as one of the most remarkable contact books, working with the likes of Cillian Murphy, Florence Pugh and Matt Damon in 2023’s Oppenheimer, the highest-grossing biopic of all time. Yet, while he has praised many of the Hollywood stars he has worked with, one from his early career especially impressed him.
In 2002, Nolan remade the 1997 Norwegian film Insomnia, casting Robin Williams, Hilary Swank and Al Pacino in the lead roles, with the director being enamoured by Pacino in a range of his 20th-century classics. Telling the story of two LA homicide detectives who are taken to a remote town shrouded in literal darkness to investigate a bleak murder, Insomnia may just be one of Nolan’s most underrated flicks.
Speaking of Pacino’s method on the set of the movie, Nolan told Combustible Celluloid back in 2022, “He has an extraordinary ability to be aware of the entire process of filmmaking, and where the camera is, and directing a level of energy straight down the barrel of the lens, but never betraying that in his performance. Which is a weird combination. It’s quite magical, really. I don’t know how it works. I don’t know what’s going on in his head.”
Insisting on tweaking his performances, no matter how tiny these adjustments were, Pacino proved to be one of the most remarkable actors Nolan has ever worked with to date, elevating those who joined him on set.
Take a look at a clip of Pacino in the underrated movie below.
