
Christopher Nolan
Biography
Christopher Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British-American filmmaker whose concept-driven epics have reshaped the modern studio blockbuster. Renowned for structurally intricate storytelling, large-format cinematography, and practical effects, he is widely regarded as a defining director of the 21st century. His films have grossed over $6.6 billion worldwide and earned him two Academy Awards, two BAFTAs, and a Golden Globe. He was appointed CBE in 2019 and knighted in 2024 for services to film.
Raised between London and Evanston, Illinois, Nolan began making Super 8 shorts as a child, later studying English literature at University College London, where he ran the Film Society and met his producer and future wife, Emma Thomas; together they founded Syncopy Inc. After shorts like Doodlebug, he self-financed his micro-budget debut Following (1998), then broke through with the reverse-told amnesia noir Memento (2000). Studio work followed with Insomnia (2002) and then Batman Begins (2005), which launched a grounded superhero trilogy completed by The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012). Between and after those, he mounted original tentpoles—The Prestige (2006), Inception (2010), Interstellar (2014), and the triptych survival drama Dunkirk (2017), which earned his first Best Director nomination.
Nolan’s films interrogate time, memory, identity, ethics, and knowledge—sneaking metaphysics into genre frames (noir, heist, war, biopic). Hallmarks include nonlinear or braided timelines, precision cross-cutting, mathematically inflected imagery, practical/in-camera spectacle augmented by visual effects, experimental soundscapes, and a steadfast preference for celluloid (65mm/IMAX) and theatrical exhibition. A frequent collaborator with Jonathan Nolan (co-writer), Emma Thomas (producer), and craftspeople such as Wally Pfister, Hoyte van Hoytema, Lee Smith, and Hans Zimmer, he also advocates globally for film preservation and exhibition, curating restorations and convening archivists to champion photochemical cinema.
After the time-bending espionage of Tenet (2020), Nolan departed Warner Bros. and partnered with Universal on Oppenheimer (2023), a morally dense biopic that won him the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture. He is re-teaming with Universal on The Odyssey (scheduled for 2026), an IMAX-shot adaptation of Homer’s epic. In 2025 he was elected President of the Directors Guild of America. Nolan lives in Los Angeles with Thomas and their four children, continuing to pair popular spectacle with intellectual ambition while championing the artistry—and communal ritual—of seeing movies on film, in cinemas.
Acting (28 movies)

Batman Unmasked: The Psychology of The Dark Knight
2008

Heath Ledger: A Tribute
2009

These Amazing Shadows
2011

The Batmobile
2012

Side by Side
2012

To End All War: Oppenheimer & the Atomic Bomb
2023

Dreams: Cinema of the Subconscious
2010

Inside Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer
2023

Batman Tech
2008

Gotham Uncovered: Creation of a Scene
2008

The Science of Interstellar
2014

The Director's Notebook: The Cinematic Sleight of Hand of Christopher Nolan
2007

Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot
2013

The Fire Rises: The Creation and Impact of The Dark Knight Trilogy
2013

Tarantella
1989

Interstellar: Nolan's Odyssey
2014

Hans Zimmer: Hollywood Rebel
2022

Cinema16: British Short Films
2003

Cinema Futures
2016

Inside 'Interstellar'
2015

Film Noir: Bringing Darkness to Light
2006

Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound
2019

Ending the Knight
2012

Joker: Put on a Happy Face
2020

Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics
2010

Catwoman: The Feline Femme Fatale
2021

Looking at the World in a New Way: The Making of ‘Tenet’
2020

Hans Zimmer & Friends: Diamond in the Desert
2025
Directing (19 movies)

Tarantella
1989

Oppenheimer
2023

Cinema16: British Short Films
2003
Larceny
1996

Dunkirk
2017

Quay
2015

Tenet
2020

Interstellar
2014

Following
1999

Cinema 16: European Short Films (U.S. Edition)
2007

Inception
2010

Batman Begins
2005

Insomnia
2002

Memento
2000

Doodlebug
1997

The Prestige
2006

The Dark Knight
2008

The Dark Knight Rises
2012

The Odyssey
2026
| Title | Year | Job |
|---|---|---|
| Tarantella | 1989 | Writer |
| Tarantella | 1989 | Producer |
| Larceny | 1996 | Producer |
| Larceny | 1996 | Writer |
| Doodlebug | 1997 | Writer |
| Following | 1999 | Producer |
| Following | 1999 | Screenplay |
| Memento | 2000 | Screenplay |
| Batman Begins | 2005 | Screenplay |
| The Prestige | 2006 | Screenplay |
| The Prestige | 2006 | Producer |
| The Dark Knight | 2008 | Screenplay |
| The Dark Knight | 2008 | Producer |
| Inception | 2010 | Producer |
| Inception | 2010 | Writer |
| The Dark Knight Rises | 2012 | Producer |
| The Dark Knight Rises | 2012 | Screenplay |
| Man of Steel | 2013 | Producer |
| Transcendence | 2014 | Executive Producer |
| Interstellar | 2014 | Producer |
| Interstellar | 2014 | Writer |
| Quay | 2015 | Producer |
| Quay | 2015 | Original Music Composer |
| Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice | 2016 | Executive Producer |
| Dunkirk | 2017 | Writer |
| Dunkirk | 2017 | Producer |
| Justice League | 2017 | Executive Producer |
| The Doll's Breath | 2019 | Producer |
| Tenet | 2020 | Writer |
| Tenet | 2020 | Producer |
| Zack Snyder's Justice League | 2021 | Executive Producer |
| Oppenheimer | 2023 | Producer |
| Oppenheimer | 2023 | Writer |
| The Odyssey | 2026 | Writer |
| The Odyssey | 2026 | Producer |