The Dark Knighttrilogy actor Gary Oldman recalls the note Christopher Nolan gave him that is one of the best he’s received in his career. Coming off of successes likeMemento(2000) andInsomnia(2002), Nolan entered the world of comic book adaptations withBatman Beginsin 2005. Christian Bale played the role of Batman, aka Bruce Wayne, throughoutNolan’sDark Knighttrilogy, with Oldman playing a prominent role as ally Jim Gordon, who eventually becomes Police Commissioner inThe Dark Knight(2008).
During a recent interview withThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Oldman recalls that filming one scene forTheDark Knighttrilogy resulted in Nolan giving him one of the best notes he has ever received from a director. The note was surprisingly simple, with the director simply telling Oldman that there is more at stake for Gordon in the scene in question. Check out Oldman and Colbert’s exchange below:
Stephen Colbert: “Speaking of Nolan, you worked with him on three of his Batman trilogy and appeared as Harry Truman in Oppenheimer. What do you like about him?
Gary Oldman: “Fast. The vision. He knows what film he’s making. You know, the captain.”
Colbert: “It’s not discover as you go.”
Oldman: “No. He’s incredibly prepped. He really knows what he wants and he gave me one of the greatest notes a director has ever given me. I was doing a scene…”
Colbert: “Which movie?”
Oldman: “One of the Batmans. I was doing a scene and he said, ‘Okay, cut.’ And he came up to me and he said, ‘Little more at stake.’ And I went, ‘Yeah. Got it. All right.’ And made the adjustment and we got it and we moved on. I just thought… a good director, to me, should know when not to say something.”
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Bale is obviously the star of the show inTheDark Knighttrilogy, leading the casts of all three installments. The supporting cast members, however, proved instrumental to the trilogy’s success.Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker, for example, remains one of the most iconic parts ofThe Dark Knight. Oldman’s performance may not be quite as flashy, buthe is, along with Michael Caine’s Alfred, one of the most prominent characters featured across all three movies. The entire trilogy was remarkably successful both critically and commercially, grossing $2.4 billion worldwide.
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Oldman and Nolan’s successful relationship onThe Dark Knighttrilogy also resulted in the pair reuniting in 2023. Oldman appears briefly as part of thecast ofOppenheimer, playing U.S. President Harry Truman and looking almost unrecognizable while doing so. Nolan is currently in production on his new project,The Odyssey, and Oldman seemingly won’t be appearing in this one.The door is evidently open for more collaborationsgiven Oldman’s comments, however.
Matt Damon leads the cast ofThe Odyssey, with Tom Holland, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, and Anne Hathaway, among others, also set to appear.
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Speaking with actors and helping to shape their performances so that they work as part of a larger creative vision is a crucial part of the job for any director. Though it’s easy to associate Nolan as a director with large action set pieces, practical effects, and mind-bending visuals and storytelling,Oldman’s story makes clear that Nolan’s talent extends to actors as well. This was also made very clear with thecritically-acclaimedOppenheimer, a historical drama that consists mostly of characters talking in rooms.
Though there’s seemingly no Nolan and Oldman collaboration planned for the future just yet, it would be exciting to see the pair reunite once more. After Oldman’s role inOppenheimerproved to essentially be a cameo,their next collaboration will hopefully involve a meatier role for Oldman. It’s too early to speculate what Nolan’s next project afterThe Odysseywill be, butThe Dark Knighttrilogy certainly makes a case for a Nolan and Oldman reunion.
