In an interview with Vanity Fair, Guy Pearce revealed that he was blocked from acting in Christopher Nolan films after 2000’s ‘Memento’ because a Warner Bros. executive didn’t like his acting.
Christopher Nolan’s relationship with the Hollywood studio began immediately after ‘Memento’ with the 2002 psychological thriller ‘Insomnia.’ Nolan and Warner Bros. then worked together for 18 years until 2020’s ‘Tenet.’
“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.
‘Memento’ is ranked among the best films of all time on IMDb. It was also ranked 25th on the BBC’s list of the “Best Films of the 21st Century,” based on the opinions of 117 film critics from around the world.
