I had a thinky thought
Since news of Tom Hardy's involvement in the third Batman movie broke, a lot of people have been bemoaning Nolan's propensity to hire the same actors over and over. Personally, I like that he does (hey, I'm a fan of Joss Whedon and Orson Welles and Christopher Guest - I am very, very used to this by now). Also, Tom Hardy. So I'm obviously pleased. But it made me think about why actors would want to work with Nolan again and again.
Let us compare and contrast [emphasis mine].
Tom Hardy on his experience on RockNRolla (in his own inimitable style):
“Its funny I spend a lot of time on this one having to prove that I can actually act and arguing my point to do my job i dnt think they trust that if left to my own devises I will turn in a performance that will be worthy but they seem to think I think 2 much and make things 2 complic8d. There are a lot of big tough men and macho shit going on here. I wonder if it is my issues with my own courage and inability to find a languague with the tough guys that is the problem, but I cant lie to myself if I think theres a waft of the turd in the air? Everybody can be so nice til you raise your hand and ask… why? So do I let the boys intimidate me put me off my game or do I intimid8 them a little when I flag up questions or disagree with the swaggering bravado or a distinct lack of intelligent thought instinct and my disdain of manipulation and courage must Me speak my fears else they consume me. For I am a gay cowboy and the token oddball on this movie my place in the pack is a runt amongst these fighting men”
“See I just don’t suffer fools gladly..Which is really dangerous territory I have to toe the line sometimes and know when my ego wants to make the call Shame I really need to learn in this game:- to punch the clock and smile be gr8ful it’s hard when you have been spoiled as I have and tastd riches which aren’t about exposure name and the paycheck and when it cld b done better we sometimes have to bite our tongue x X”
Source
Chris Nolan on working with actors:
"I've been fortunate enough to work with great casts on all my films. Particularly with a lot of the smaller characters, the supporting characters, a great actor will come in with a whole take on it and they'll literally give what's on the page some kind of life that you hadn't foreseen."
"I had to do an enormous amount of re-writing based on my conversations with Leo about Cobb. All of which I think was very productive for the movie, very essential to the movie"
"I learned that I had to trust Leo and his assessments of his character Cobb's truths."
Source: pages 13-15 of Inception: The Shooting Script
Now, I found RockNRolla an entertaining watch (It is, however, not actually a movie. It is a string of scenes, put together in something resembling an order, some of which are fantastic, some of which are utterly pointless. And ultimately it seems to be all prologue for a sequel that is unlikely to ever exist.), and I liked Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes far more than I expected to. But this just goes to show why I adore Nolan's films and merely enjoy Ritchie's. It isn't enough for a director to have great visual flair, they've got to be able to connect with their actors, so that I can connect with their characters. If you're going to pay actors millions of dollars per film, the least you can do is allow them to actually act for their money.
Let us compare and contrast [emphasis mine].
Tom Hardy on his experience on RockNRolla (in his own inimitable style):
“Its funny I spend a lot of time on this one having to prove that I can actually act and arguing my point to do my job i dnt think they trust that if left to my own devises I will turn in a performance that will be worthy but they seem to think I think 2 much and make things 2 complic8d. There are a lot of big tough men and macho shit going on here. I wonder if it is my issues with my own courage and inability to find a languague with the tough guys that is the problem, but I cant lie to myself if I think theres a waft of the turd in the air? Everybody can be so nice til you raise your hand and ask… why? So do I let the boys intimidate me put me off my game or do I intimid8 them a little when I flag up questions or disagree with the swaggering bravado or a distinct lack of intelligent thought instinct and my disdain of manipulation and courage must Me speak my fears else they consume me. For I am a gay cowboy and the token oddball on this movie my place in the pack is a runt amongst these fighting men”
“See I just don’t suffer fools gladly..Which is really dangerous territory I have to toe the line sometimes and know when my ego wants to make the call Shame I really need to learn in this game:- to punch the clock and smile be gr8ful it’s hard when you have been spoiled as I have and tastd riches which aren’t about exposure name and the paycheck and when it cld b done better we sometimes have to bite our tongue x X”
Source
Chris Nolan on working with actors:
"I've been fortunate enough to work with great casts on all my films. Particularly with a lot of the smaller characters, the supporting characters, a great actor will come in with a whole take on it and they'll literally give what's on the page some kind of life that you hadn't foreseen."
"I had to do an enormous amount of re-writing based on my conversations with Leo about Cobb. All of which I think was very productive for the movie, very essential to the movie"
"I learned that I had to trust Leo and his assessments of his character Cobb's truths."
Source: pages 13-15 of Inception: The Shooting Script
Now, I found RockNRolla an entertaining watch (It is, however, not actually a movie. It is a string of scenes, put together in something resembling an order, some of which are fantastic, some of which are utterly pointless. And ultimately it seems to be all prologue for a sequel that is unlikely to ever exist.), and I liked Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes far more than I expected to. But this just goes to show why I adore Nolan's films and merely enjoy Ritchie's. It isn't enough for a director to have great visual flair, they've got to be able to connect with their actors, so that I can connect with their characters. If you're going to pay actors millions of dollars per film, the least you can do is allow them to actually act for their money.