Movies Guy Pearce Says He Never Acted in Chris Nolan Films After ‘Memento’ Because a Warner Bros. Exec Disliked His Acting

[Takes Two To Tango]

Guy Pearce Says He Never Acted in Chris Nolan Films After ‘Memento’ Because a Warner Bros. Exec Disliked His Acting and Said: ‘I’m Never Going to Employ’ You

Guy Pearce revealed in a new interview with Vanity Fair that he was blocked from starring in Christopher Nolan movies after 2000’s “Memento” because a Warner Bros. executive just didn’t like his acting. The director’s relationship with the Hollywood studio started right after “Memento” with the...

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Guy Pearce revealed in a new interview with Vanity Fair that he was blocked from starring in Christopher Nolan movies after 2000’s “Memento” because a Warner Bros. executive just didn’t like his acting. The director’s relationship with the Hollywood studio started right after “Memento” with the 2002 psychological thriller “Insomnia.” Nolan and Warner Bros. then worked together for 18 years through the 2020 release of “Tenet.” The director’s tenure at the studio included blockbusters like “Inception” and “The Dark Knight” trilogy.

“He spoke to me about roles a few times over the years,” Pearce said when asked about his relationship with Nolan after the breakout success of “Memento.” “The first ‘Batman’ and ‘The Prestige.’ But there was an executive at Warner Bros. who quite openly said to my agent, ‘I don’t get Guy Pearce. I’m never going to get Guy Pearce. I’m never going to employ Guy Pearce.’ So, in a way, that’s good to know. I mean, fair enough; there are some actors I don’t get. But it meant I could never work with Chris.”

Pearce said this particular Warner Bros. executive “just didn’t believe in me as an actor,” which blocked him from acting in Nolan movies like “Batman Begins” even though the director had him fly to London to read for the role of Ra’s al Ghul. Nolan cast Liam Neeson in the part.

“They flew me to London to discuss the Liam Neeson role and I think it was decided on my flight that I wasn’t going to be in the movie,” Pearce remembered. “So I get there and Chris is like ‘Hey, you want to see the Batmobile and get dinner?'”

Fortunately for Pearce, Nolan’s tenure at Warner Bros. came to an end after the 2020 release of “Tenet.” The director made his most recent movie, the Oscar winner “Oppenheimer, at Universal Pictures and is re-teaming with that studio for his mysterious new project that is releasing in 2026. Nolan’s new movie is starring Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Anne Hathaway and more. Both Damon and Hathaway have appeared in previous Nolan features.

Pearce, meanwhile, is expected to land an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor this season thanks to his acclaimed role in “The Brutalist.”

 

[Sobek]

I've never been a fan, I'll be interested in other people's opinions. Not questioning his acting ability just his character choices and portrayals (and charisma).

 

[Doomer]

He is fine, he never bothered me at all, i always thought he is fine and watchable.

 

[SKYNET]

He was awesome in Memento. The execs at WB probably didn't like being rejected by Guy at the Diddy parties

 

[ColemanwastheGOAT]

He's a thinking man's actor and warner makes big dumb movies. Makes sense.

 

[Madmick]

Love Guy. His career hasn't suffered for it. If anything, it's probably been more interesting.

Maybe the executive has had a stellar career in his own role, too. Not everyone has to be on the same page for things to turn out alright. From the interview, it sounds like Guy gets that.

 

[wh4tttt]

He was good in count of monte cristo and the time machine.

 

[TrueBias]

Hes great. La confidential is all the proof anyone needs.

 

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

 

[Natural Order]

LA Confidential. Top notch. He’s a great actor, ill give him a 7. Quite a variety of roles over the years and Ive enjoyed most of them.

 

[Takes Two To Tango]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I gave him a 9, I think he's a tremendous actor.

 

[Eusung]

I always thought it was odd that Nolan worked with every actor multiple times except Guy Pearce and Hugh Jackman. I wondered if they didn't get along or something. I don't think a wb exec has that much say tbh ever since TDK trilogy made wb so much money, they pretty much worship the guy.

 

[Zer]

I've always liked him in anything I've seen him in. Memento is by far my fav Nolan film and he did a great job in it imo

 

[ricc505]

Been a fan since The Proposition

 

[Wilmer Digreux]

He's the best mandarin

 

[Lycandroid]

weird because there are quite a few actors in nolan movies i would consider worse

 

[VinceArch]

What a dumb fuck executive.

 

[mb23100]

Hes great. La confidential is all the proof anyone needs.

 

[eddymotto]

LA Confidential
The Rover
Momento
The Proposition

All top tier performances. I am probably missing a few.

Pearce works a lot and so he is in a lot of films and some of them are not great. If you do that sort of volume, not all of them will be great.

Always been a fan.

He has had a fantastic career and yet after LA Confidential, I would have predicted that he would be an even bigger star.

 

[JudoThrowFiasco]

Fantastic number 2 or 3 actor. Not as good as a number 1. Supplemental roles are his thing.

He was really excellent as a support role in The Brutalist.