Known for his Hollywood blockbusters with complex storytelling, he is considered a leading filmmaker of the 21st century. Nolan was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in , and received a knighthood in 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 Nolan gained international recognition with his second film, Memento , and transitioned into studio filmmaking with Insomnia He became a high-profile director with The Dark Knight trilogy β , and found further success with The Prestige , Inception , Interstellar , and Dunkirk After the release of Tenet , Nolan parted ways with longtime distributor Warner Bros.
Nolan's work regularly features in the listings of best films of their respective decades. Infused with a metaphysical outlook, his films 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. He has co-written several of his films with his brother, Jonathan , and runs the production company Syncopy Inc. His father, Brendan James Nolan, was a British advertising executive of Irish descent [ 1 ] who worked as a creative director.
His mother, Christina Jensen, was an American flight attendant from Evanston, Illinois ; she would later work as a teacher of English. He has an elder brother, Matthew, and a younger brother, Jonathan , also a filmmaker.
The three brothers were raised Catholic in Highgate and would spend their summers in Evanston. He cast his brother Jonathan and built sets from "clay, flour, egg boxes and toilet rolls". Nolan and Roko co-directed the surreal 8 mm Tarantella , which was shown on Image Union , an independent film and video showcase on the Public Broadcasting Service.
