Known for Directing
Christopher Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British and American filmmaker. Known for his Hollywood blockbusters with complex storytelling, Nolan is considered a leading filmmaker of the 21st century. His films have earned over $7.7 billion worldwide, making him the third-highest-grossing film director of all time. Nolan's accolades include two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and two British Academy Film Awards. He was also appointed a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 2019 and was knighted in 2024 for his contributions to film. Nolan developed an interest in filmmaking from a young age. After studying English literature at University College London, he made several short films before his feature film debut with Following (1998). Nolan gained international recognition with his second film, Memento (2000), and transitioned into studio filmmaking with Insomnia (2002). He became a high-profile director with The Dark Knight trilogy (2005–2012) and found further success with The Prestige (2006), Inception (2010), Interstellar (2014) and Dunkirk (2017). After the release of the critically polarising Tenet (2020), Nolan parted ways with longtime distributor Warner Bros. Pictures over their streaming release strategy and signed with Universal Pictures for the highly successful Oppenheimer (2023) and The Odyssey (2026). The former won him Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture. Three of Nolan's films have been inducted into the United States National Film Registry. Additionally, two of his films are among the highest-grossing films of all time. Infused with a metaphysical outlook, his works thematise epistemology, existentialism, ethics, the construction of time and the malleable nature of memory and personal identity. They feature mathematically inspired images and concepts, unconventional narrative structures, practical special effects, experimental soundscapes, large-format film photography and materialistic perspectives. His enthusiasm for the use and preservation of analogue and IMAX film cameras in cinema production, as opposed to digital, has also garnered significant attention. He has co-written several of his films with his brother, Jonathan, and runs the production company Syncopy Inc. with his wife, Emma Thomas. Nolan has also been president of the Directors Guild of America since 2025. Description above from the Wikipedia article Christopher Nolan, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Born
July 30, 1970 (age 56)
Birthplace
Westminster, London, England, UK
Filmography
112 films, 14 shows


The Odyssey
2026 · 2h 53m
country: United Kingdom
Odysseus, the legendary King of Ithaca, embarks on a long and perilous journey home following the Trojan War. Throughout his voyage, he is forced to confront the whims of gods, mythological monsters, and trials that stretch both his cunning and his humanity to the breaking point.
Civilware2025
Civilware2025
2025 · 30m
country: Unknown
As war breaks out between spoons and forks, only one thing can stop it, a spork


Oppenheimer
2023 · 3h 1m
country: United Kingdom
The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer's role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.


Tenet
2020 · 2h 30m
country: United Kingdom
Armed with only one word - Tenet - and fighting for the survival of the entire world, the Protagonist journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real time.


Dunkirk
2017 · 1h 47m
country: United Kingdom
The story of the miraculous evacuation of Allied soldiers from Belgium, Britain, Canada and France, who were cut off and surrounded by the German army from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk between May 26th and June 4th 1940 during World War II.


Quay
2015 · 8m
country: United Kingdom
In 2015, Christopher Nolan curated a selection of short films by the surrealist animators the Quay Brothers to be distributed as a touring 35mm presentation. The three films—"In Absentia" (2000), "The Comb" (1991) and "Street of Crocodiles" (1986)—were accompanied by this brief portrait of the brothers at work in their London studio.


Interstellar
2014 · 2h 49m
country: United Kingdom
The adventures of a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.


The Dark Knight Rises
2012 · 2h 45m
country: United Kingdom
Following the death of District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman assumes responsibility for Dent's crimes to protect the late attorney's reputation and is subsequently hunted by the Gotham City Police Department. Eight years later, Batman encounters the mysterious Selina Kyle and the villainous Bane, a new terrorist leader who overwhelms Gotham's finest. The Dark Knight resurfaces to protect a city that has branded him an enemy.


Inception
2010 · 2h 28m
country: United Kingdom
Cobb, a skilled thief who commits corporate espionage by infiltrating the subconscious of his targets is offered a chance to regain his old life as payment for a task considered to be impossible: "inception", the implantation of another person's idea into a target's subconscious.


The Dark Knight
2008 · 2h 32m
country: United Kingdom
Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as the Joker.


Cinema 16: European Short Films (U.S. Edition)
2007 · 3h 38m
country: Unknown
A collection of short films by 16 European directors.


The Prestige
2006 · 2h 10m
country: United Kingdom
A mysterious story of two magicians whose intense rivalry leads them on a life-long battle for supremacy -- full of obsession, deceit and jealousy with dangerous and deadly consequences.


Batman Begins
2005 · 2h 20m
country: United Kingdom
Driven by tragedy, billionaire Bruce Wayne dedicates his life to uncovering and defeating the corruption that plagues his home, Gotham City. Unable to work within the system, he instead creates a new identity, a symbol of fear for the criminal underworld - The Batman.


Cinema16: British Short Films
2003 · 3h 23m
country: Unknown
This critically acclaimed DVD contains 16 of the best classic and award winning British short films and delivers a snapshot of British cinema past and present. It includes films from Britain's most exciting new talent alongside early shorts from it's most successful filmmakers' amongst them Chris Nolan (Memento, Insomnia, Batman Begins), Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Alien), Mike Leigh (Secrets and Lies) and Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot, The Hours). 01 About a Girl - Brian Percival 02 Boy & Bicycle - Ridley Scott 03 Dear Phone - Peter Greenaway 04 Doodlebug - Christopher Nolan 05 Eight - Stephen Daldry 06 Gasman - Lynne Ramsay 07 Girl Chewing Gum - John Smith 08 Home - Morag McKinnon 09 Joyride - Jim Gillespie 10 Inside Out - Tom & Charles Guard 11 Je Taime John Wayne - Toby Macdonald 12 The Sheep Thief - Asif Kapadia 13 The Short & Curlies - Mike Leigh 14 Telling Lies - Simon Ellis 15 UK Images - Martin Parr 16 Whos My Favourite Girl? - Adrian J. McDowall


Insomnia
2002 · 1h 58m
country: United States
Two Los Angeles homicide detectives are dispatched to a northern town where the sun doesn't set to investigate the methodical murder of a local teen.


Memento
2000 · 1h 53m
country: United States
Leonard Shelby is tracking down the man who raped and murdered his wife. The difficulty of locating his wife's killer, however, is compounded by the fact that he suffers from a rare, untreatable form of short-term memory loss. Although he can recall details of life before his accident, Leonard cannot remember what happened fifteen minutes ago, where he's going, or why.


Following
1999 · 1h 9m
country: United Kingdom
Bill, an idle, unemployed aspiring writer, walks the crowded streets of London following randomly chosen strangers, a seemingly innocent entertainment that becomes dangerous when he crosses paths with a mysterious character.


Doodlebug
1997 · 3m
country: United Kingdom
There's something in his apartment. A man looking for an insect-like thing devolves into a bout of insanity as his subconscious mind begins to strangle his waking one.


Larceny
1996 · 9m
country: United Kingdom
A man breaks into a flat, startling the occupant. They argue about the new girlfriend of the 'burglar', who's come to get her stuff. Then a third man bursts out of the cupboard...


Tarantella
1990 · 5m
country: United Kingdom
"Tarantella" was an early Super 8 short film directed by Christopher Nolan with his childhood friend Roko Belic. It was made in 1989 while Nolan was studying at University College London. The film aired on "Image Union," a PBS programme in Chicago. It is about the suffering of a young man while he has nightmare about spiders and demons.