41 Christopher Nolan Quotes Filmmaking, the Art of Storytelling and Life

Christopher Nolan is known for contributing to and creating cinematic movies that blow everyone away, leaving them feeling like they just escaped into another world. Allow him to blow your mind with his 41 quotes below.

Christopher Nolan's most recent masterpiece was the re-telling of the man who oversaw the creation of the atomic bomb, namely the talented physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. The movie, aptly named "Oppenheimer," has become part of a cultural frenzy in combination with the "Barbie" movie, namely "Barbenheimer," where both acclaimed films were released in the theaters on the same date.

Of course, this isn't the only film Nolan's magic storytelling touched. According to IMDb, he was the mind behind many widely loved movies such as "The Dark Knight Rises," "Inception," and "Dunkirk," out of numerous films. He also has 146 awards under his belt, including six Oscar nominations.

He may have some wisdom he can share with us. Read his 41 quotes to learn about his career, thoughts on life, and who he is.

Christopher Nolan, with his quote: “A camera is a camera; a shot is a shot. How you tell the story is the main thing.” | Source: Getty Images

Christopher Nolan on Movies, Writing and Storytelling

"I like films that continue to spin your head in all sorts of different directions after you've seen them." ― Christopher Nolan

“I've always been a movie guy; movies have been my thing. I love movies, all kinds of movies.” ― Christopher Nolan

"To me, the most interesting approach to film noir is subjective. The genre is really all about not knowing what's going on around you, and that fear of the unknown. The only way to do that effectively is to really get into the maze, rather than look at the maze from above, so that's where I sort of come at it." ― Christopher Nolan

“A camera is a camera; a shot is a shot. How you tell the story is the main thing.” ― Christopher Nolan

“I think there are advantages to different scales of filmmaking. You wouldn’t want to do just one thing.” ― Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan, with his quote: “Well, you always discover a lot in the editing room. Particularly the action…” | Source: Getty Images

"I've never read Joseph Campbell, and I don't know all that much about story archetypes." ― Christopher Nolan

“Every film should have its own world, a logic and feel to it that expands beyond the exact image that the audience is seeing.” ― Christopher Nolan

"I don't particularly enjoy watching films in 3D because I think that a well-shot and well-projected film has a very three-dimensional quality to it, so I'm somewhat skeptical of the technology." ― Christopher Nolan

“Well, you always discover a lot in the editing room. Particularly the action…” ― Christopher Nolan

"The best actors instinctively feel out what the other actors need, and they just accommodate it." ― Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan, with his quote: “I will miss the Batman. I like to think that he'll miss me, but he's never been particularly sentimental.” | Source: Getty Images

"You know when Hollywood does a great big blockbuster that really wraps you up in a world, and lets you believe in extraordinary things that move you in some way, in an almost operatic sensibility? That to me is the most fun I have at the movies." ― Christopher Nolan

"No, I've only ever done one film at a time." ― Christopher Nolan

"My approach with actors is to try and give them whatever it is they need from me. Direction, to me, is about listening and responding and realizing how much they need to know from me and how much they have figured out for themselves, really." ― Christopher Nolan

"I believe movies are one of the great American art forms, and the shared experience of watching a story unfold on screen is an important and joyful pastime. The movie theatre is my home, and the idea that someone would violate that innocent and hopeful place in such an unbearably savage way is devastating to me." ― Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan, with his quote: “The larger the films have become, the more I’ve been able to appreciate the learning that I did by doing.” | Source: Getty Images

“I will miss the Batman. I like to think that he'll miss me, but he's never been particularly sentimental.” ― Christopher Nolan

“It’s encumbered on us, as filmmakers, to try and push whatever boundaries we can.” ― Christopher Nolan

“Film is the best way to capture an image and project that image…” ― Christopher Nolan

“The larger the films have become, the more I’ve been able to appreciate the learning that I did by doing.” ― Christopher Nolan

“My real interest is point of view. Deciding what’s the point of view, we’re trying to express, who’s eyes are we seeing the story through?” ― Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan, with his quote: “It’s encumbered on us, as filmmakers, to try and push whatever boundaries we can.” | Source: Getty Images

“The screen is the same size for every story. A shot of a teacup is the same size as an army coming over the hill. It’s all storytelling.” ― Christopher Nolan

“Everybody’s situation is unique, and the one thing I’ve learned is that instead of copying someone else’s model for a low-budget film, you really have to look at what you’ve got available and see how you can tell the story you want to tell, using the things that you have around you.“ ― Christopher Nolan

“It’s most important to just throw yourself into it, just putting everything into the project that you’re working on.” ― Christopher Nolan

“Really every job I did, including corporate videos, industrial training films, where I’d have to go to a company and throw up some lights and shoot interviews with executives, you’re always learning about your craft.” ― Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan, with his quote: “Film is the best way to capture an image and project that image…” | Source: Getty Images

“Every great story deserves a great ending.” ― Christopher Nolan

“Even if you can drill a hole in the set, why not keep the camera inside that physical space? Because I think that it’s very important to maintain that appropriate physical relationship between camera and performer that you need for storytelling.“ ― Christopher Nolan

“By the time I was ten or 11, I knew I wanted to make films.” ― Christopher Nolan

“I think there's a vague sense out there that movies are becoming more and more unreal. I know I've felt it.” ― Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan Reflections on Life & Himself

Christopher Nolan, with his quote: “I think there's a vague sense out there that movies are becoming more and more unreal. I know I've felt it.” | Source: Getty Images

“We all wake up in the morning wanting to live our lives the way we know we should. But we usually don't, in small ways.” ― Christopher Nolan

"I remember the initial genesis quite clearly. My interest in dreams comes from this notion of realizing that when you dream you create the world that you are perceiving, and I thought that feedback loop was pretty amazing." ― Christopher Nolan

"You musn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling." ― Christopher Nolan

“Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves back up.” ― Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan and actors, with his quote: “We all wake up in the morning wanting to live our lives the way we know we should. But we usually don't, in small ways.” | Source: Getty Images

“I never considered myself a lucky person. I'm the most extraordinary pessimist.” ― Christopher Nolan

“You’re never going to learn something as profoundly as when it’s purely out of curiosity.” ― Christopher Nolan

“I just love photographing things and putting them together to tell a story.” ― Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nola, with his quote: “I never considered myself a lucky person. I'm the most extraordinary pessimist.” | Source: Getty Images

“A hero can be anyone, even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat on a young boy’s shoulders to let him know the world hadn’t ended.” ― Christopher Nolan

"Revenge is a particularly interesting concept, especially the notion of whether or not it exists outside of just an abstract idea." ― Christopher Nolan

“I mean, Superman is essentially a god, but Batman is more like Hercules: he’s a human being, very flawed, and bridges the divide.” ― Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nola, with his quote: “By the time I was ten or 11, I knew I wanted to make films.” | Source: Getty Images

Nolan has worked with some of the best actors in the industry. Cillian Murphy playing in "Oppenheimer" is one, but there is also Leonardo DiCaprio, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, and the late Heath Ledger, among many others.

In memory of Heath Ledger's phenomenal performance as the Clown Prince of Crime, let's read lines from his and other actors' Jokers: 75 Thought-Provoking Joker Quotes.