NEW Christopher Nolan Interview: The Odyssey, His Next Project, & Taking Risks In His Career

Christopher Nolan has spent the last 25 years making movies that probably shouldn’t work on paper — time-bending thrillers, three-hour historical dramas, Batman movies that barely feel like superhero movies. Now, coming off The Odyssey (a movie based on a thousand-year-old epic!), he’s in a rare position: he can basically go as big as he wants. The funny part? He still has no idea what he wants to do next.

In this special interview, Nolan sits down with Hawk for a conversation that spans his whole career and the film business of the last 80 years. He talks about starting out with almost no money, what he saw in Heath Ledger before The Dark Knight, why Oppenheimer was a much bigger gamble than it looks in hindsight, and the strange moment when he finally heard his own name called at the Oscars.

But some of the most interesting parts have nothing to do with box office, awards, or working with top actors. Nolan opens up about what success has actually taken away from him, why experience can make you less fearless, how working with his wife keeps him grounded, and why he still tries to protect the part of himself that made movies before anyone was paying attention. We hope you enjoy this conversation with Nolan as much as we did!

00:00 Introduction

01:07 How Nolan became a filmmaker

03:22 Why he gravitates toward nonlinear storytelling

06:53 What a director actually does

10:16 How much his movies change during production

14:02 The Odyssey and what Nolan wants to do next

16:18 Nolan’s philosophy on taking risks

18:16 Why Oppenheimer was such a gamble

19:19 What success has taken away from him

21:17 How Nolan gets his crew to challenge him

24:34 Working hand in hand with his wife, Emma Thomas

25:56 Casting Heath Ledger as the Joker

28:22 Knowing The Dark Knight was something special

30:34 How The Dark Knight changed the Oscars

31:10 Finally winning an Oscar for Oppenheimer

33:07 What Nolan still believes about Hollywood

34:33 The Dark Knight hospital explosion

36:17 Why the Motion Picture & Television Fund matters to him

38:05 Becoming president of the Directors Guild

41:22 Nolan on AI and protecting filmmakers

44:55 Final thoughts

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