We have more casting news forChristopher Nolan’s TheOdyssey. Joining an already elite group isElliot Page,Samantha Morton,Himesh Patel, andBill Irwin.
Fans of Nolan’s movies may recognize three of those names. Page had played Ariadne inInception. Patel was Mahir inTenet. And Bill Irwin voiced TARS inInterstellar.
Inception the Game? Nolan is Working On It
Samantha Morton is a first-time Nolan collaborator. That list forOdysseyincludes Charlize Theron,Tom Holland, Zendaya,Jon Bernthal, Lupita Nyong’o, and John Leguizamo. All of them will become eligible to join the club of actors who have worked with Nolan multiple times.
Let’s take a look at the five actors who have worked with Nolan the most, outside the Batman trilogy.
5Anne Hathaway & Robert Pattinson
Co-Pilot, Time Traveler, To Be Determined
The Odysseywill be Hathaway’s second (non-Batman) film with Nolan, having previously played Dr. Amelia Brand inInterstellar. While Brand didn’t get to do all that much in the sci-fi epic, she is an important emotional foil to Matthew McConaughey’s character.
Robert Pattinson starred inTenet, in a supporting role that finally won over many of the people who had continued to judge him for being the pretty, shiny vampire in theTwilightsaga. Those in the know had long-recognized Pattinson’s talent and star power.
Both have joinedThe Odyssey, but in undisclosed roles.Screen Rantspeculated that Hathaway could be Penelope, the wife of Odysseus. They pegged Pattinson as Antinous, an antagonist who pursues Penelope during Odysseus’s long absence.
4Matt Damon
Loner, Enabler, To Be Determined
Matt Damon is also part ofThe Odyssey. He seems the obvious choice to play Odysseus, as Holland, Pattinson, and others would be too young for the role of the middle-aged hero.
Interstellarwas Damon’s first collaboration with Nolan. The result was amazing, as Nolan used Damon’s penchant for playing audience-favorite protagonists to set up a shocking twist.
And then Damon played a major role inOppenheimer, as U.S. Army Colonel Leslie Groves, the man in charge of the Manhattan Project, the one who brought Oppenheimer on to lead development of the atomic bomb.
3Kenneth Branagh
Commander, Futurist, Scientist
Two of Branagh’s three Nolan films have been in understated roles. InDunkirk, he plays Commander Bolton, a composite character inspired by Captain William Tennan. He has a few memorable moments, but isn’t the main character.
It’s the same inOppenheimer, as Branagh plays Niels Bohr. Bohr’s an important figure but not a meaningful part of the film.
InTenet, however, he was Andrei Sator, arguably the biggest jerk (putting it mildly) in Nolan’s entire filmography and the scariest Branagh has ever been on-screen.
2Cillian Murphy
Dreamer, Coward, Destroyer of Worlds
Cillian Murphy doesn’t seem to have a role inThe Odyssey(maybe because he’s committed to the third film in the28 Years Latertrilogy?). But he’s one of the most memorable actors in Nolan’s filmography.
InInception, he got to play Robert Fischer, the business titan with daddy-issues whose dreams the heroes invade. I’ll never forget that moment, at the end, after the inception, where Murphy has to nonchalantly convey he just had an emotional breakthrough that has changed his entire worldview. And he nails it!
But then, inDunkirk, Murphy loses his nobility to play an emotionally broken soldier whose rising cowardice turns him into a villain.
Murphy and Nolan re-teamed for the high-point of their careers. Murphy playedOppenheimerand won the Academy Award for Best Actor, while Nolan took him Best Director, and the film won Best Picture.
1Michael Caine
Engineer, Mentor, Poetry Reciter, Vocal Cameo, Sir Michael
Oh, Michael Caine. The legend himself. He has appeared in more Christopher Nolan movies than anyone else, whether you include the Batman movies or not.
First, he played the engineering assistant inThe Prestige, and got to explain the three parts of a magic trick: the pledge, the turn, and the prestige. Nolan was quick to notice that letting Michael Caine narrate and give big speeches coincided withaudiences lovingthe movie. It worked inThe Prestige, they ran it back inBatman Begins,The Dark Knight,Inception,The Dark Knight Returns,Interstellar, andDunkirk.
As much as I love all of Michael Caine’s appearances, my favorite isTenet. Why? Because Caine’s character is literally called Sir Michael. Which opens up the possibility that Michael Caine was just playing himself. It’s a brief, Bond-like scene, where the spy gets important information from a sharp, witty character, and they banter back and forth. And nothing that’s said in any way goes against the theory that Michael Caine is playing Michael Caine and that Michael Caine, knighted as he is, plays a key role in British intelligence operations.
Sure, the character is officially named Sir Michael Crosby, but doesn’t the name being “Crosby” only strengthen the idea that it’s really “Caine”?
