Top 10 Actors Who Have Appeared in Movies by Christopher Nolan

1. Heath Ledger

   

   Heath Andrew Ledger was an Australian actor and director. After appearing in Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to develop his film career. He received critical acclaim for his role as the Joker in The Dark Knight and posthumously won... read more

   Possibly the greatest movie role for a villain I have ever seen. However, he only appeared in one Nolan film, so he can't be ranked too high on this list.

   How is he 7th? He delivers the greatest performance as a villain in movie history, so it's ridiculous that he is ranked so low.

   The Joker is the most awesome ever. Get him in first place.

2. Leonardo DiCaprio

   

   Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. Known for his work in biopics and period films, he's received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and three Golden Globe Awards. As of 2019, his films have grossed over... read more

   Of course, Leonardo DiCaprio is easily the greatest actor still working, and he delivers the best performance in a Christopher Nolan movie. He's also the most prolific actor on this list.

   No duh. Look at his amazing career and performances in some of his movies. His role in Inception was possibly his best, which is a huge achievement.

   Best skills, best voice, best face, best accomplishments, biggest roles. I have to hand it to him. Leonardo is definitely worthy of the number one spot.

3. Michael Caine

   

   Sir Michael Caine, CBE (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, March 14, 1933) is an English actor, producer, and author. He has appeared in more than 130 films in a career spanning 70 years and is considered a British film icon. Known for his cockney accent, Caine was born in South London, where during his... read more

   What? Why is Michael Caine so low? I can understand him not being in first place because DiCaprio is amazing, but seriously, seventh? He has the most comments by far, and Slothwhatever ranked him fourth, so something isn't right, right?

   He has been in almost every Nolan movie. I really like him as a person, and he was even knighted. He also had a wide variety. He was a mentor in The Dark Knight and Inception, but he was a traitor in Interstellar and other roles in other movies.

   Yes, Michael deserves to be first here. He is in even more Nolan movies than Cillian Murphy, and I can't believe Sloth21 ranked Morgan Freeman above him.

4. Tom Hardy

   

   Edward Thomas Hardy, CBE, is an English actor and film producer.

   Originally a model, Hardy made his film debut in Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down (2001). He gained wider recognition for his roles in films such as Bronson (2008), Inception (2010), and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).... read more

   It was hard to choose between his two big roles in Nolan films to determine which one is his best, in my opinion. Bane is the character who had the most screen time and is very iconic, but Eames from Inception was definitely his better role.

   He was like a hilarious, awesome James Bond kind of guy with a great mind and imagination, and he had a British accent too. Inception was the movie that started his great acting spree. However, more people know him as Bane.

   I actually thought that his role as Bane was better than the Joker. He was so intimidating, and his voice was awesome. Also, Eames was super suave and funny, and he was my favorite character in Inception.

5. Morgan Freeman

   

   Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, director, producer, and narrator recognized for his authoritative voice and commanding screen presence. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Million Dollar Baby (2004) and received Oscar nominations for Street Smart (1987), Driving... read more

   Morgan Freeman has appeared in countless films over the years. Although he was not a main character in the three Nolan films he appeared in, he still had a large role.

   Freeman is so classic. Whenever you think of him, Shawshank Redemption and Se7en - two amazing classics - come to mind. He should be in the top three.

6. Cillian Murphy

   

   Cillian Murphy is an Irish actor of stage and screen. He began his career in the late 1990s and has since gained recognition in British and American cinema for his versatility. Murphy is widely known for playing Thomas Shelby in Peaky Blinders and for roles in several Christopher Nolan films, including... read more

   He has also been in many of Nolan's movies, from Dunkirk to The Dark Knight trilogy. But Inception was his best role. He was a really deep and emotional character around whom the whole movie kind of centered, as he was the person they were performing inception on.

7. Christian Bale

   

   Christian Charles Philip Bale (born January 30, 1974) is an English actor known for his versatility and physical transformations for roles. He has been a leading man in films across several genres and has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. In 2014, Forbes... read more

   One of the greatest actors of the early 21st century. He also has, by far, the most screen time in a Nolan movie, almost tripling the second-place actor since he was Batman in three Batman movies and the main character in The Prestige.

   Other than Michael Caine and Cillian Murphy, he has appeared in the most movies by Nolan and has, by far, the most screen time. He was also one of the two main characters in Nolan's The Prestige.

8. Guy Pearce

   

   Guy Edward Pearce (born 5 October 1967) is an Australian actor. His accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award and nominations for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards. Whether he is scrambling his own memories in Memento or chewing the scenery in The Brutalist, this dynamic performer... read more

   He had a very interesting, unique, and amazing role and performance in Memento.

9. Joseph Gordon-Levitt

   

   Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt is an American actor, filmmaker, singer, and entrepreneur. He has received various accolades, including Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his roles in (500) Days of Summer and 50/50. In addition to acting, he is the founder... read more

   Many of you will know him as Arthur from Inception, as Cobb's loyal right-hand man who does all the crazy no-gravity fight scenes and rotating hallways. Or perhaps for how he played "Robin" in The Dark Knight Rises.

10. Aaron Eckhart

    

    The Dark Knight.

The Newcomers
11. ?

    Robert Downey Jr.

    

    Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965) is an American actor and producer. His early career included both critical acclaim and commercial success.

    He battled substance abuse and legal troubles in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He experienced a major career resurgence with his role as Tony... read more

12. ?

    Carrie Anne Moss

    
The Contenders

13. Liam Neeson

    

    Liam John Neeson, OBE, is an actor from Northern Ireland. In 1976, he joined the Lyric Players' Theatre in Belfast, where he performed for two years. He later appeared in the 1981 Arthurian film Excalibur, which helped launch his film career.

    He is the most awesome actor you know. Very wise and powerful in Batman Begins, and it reminded me of Doctor Strange (the start of Batman Begins).

    Batman Begins.

14. Johnny Depp

    

    John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor, producer, and musician. He has won a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor. His film roles are often prominent, and he frequently portrays eccentric characters with dark states of mind. Depp is also... read more

15. Joe Pantoliano

16. Hugh Jackman

    

    Hugh Michael Jackman (born October 12, 1968) is an Australian actor, singer, and producer. He achieved global recognition for roles in superhero, period, musical, and romantic films. Jackman is best known for portraying Wolverine in the X-Men film series from 2000 through Deadpool & Wolverine in 2024... read more

    One of the two main protagonists in The Prestige.

17. Marion Cotillard

    

    Marion Cotillard is a French actress, singer-songwriter, musician, environmentalist, and spokesperson for Greenpeace. She achieved international fame for her portrayal of Édith Piaf in the 2007 film La Vie en Rose, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. Cotillard has also appeared in several... read more

    I feel like the only problem with Nolan's films is that there aren't very many female roles. I would have normally put Hugh Jackman here, but I felt like a female needed to be in my original top ten, so I put her on there.

    She plays, in addition to Mal from Inception, Talia Al Ghul in The Dark Knight Rises. She turns out to be kind of the main villain of the movie, which is disappointing because it made Bane - whose backstory we had been building up for ages and who was going crazy and ruling Gotham - just some thug for her.

    Yeah, I know. I hated it when they made her the main villain. It's like they built up Bane's character and made him incredibly awesome, and then said, Oh, wait, you're just a thug, and he got killed by being randomly shot by some burglar.

18. Matthew McConaughey

    

    Matthew David McConaughey (born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He had his breakout role with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy Dazed and Confused (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first success as a leading man came in the legal drama A Time to Kill (1996). His... read more

    Interstellar.

19. Robin Williams

    

    Robin McLaurin Williams was an American actor and comedian. He began performing stand-up comedy in San Francisco and Los Angeles in the mid-1970s and helped lead a comedy renaissance in San Francisco. He died in August 2014 and is remembered for his improvisational genius, charity work, and heartfelt... read more

    Excellent actor from The Prestige.

20. Al Pacino

    

    Alfredo James "Al" Pacino, born April 25, 1940, is an American actor and filmmaker. Pacino has had a career spanning more than five decades and is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors in film history. He has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, and two Primetime... read more

    Have you not seen him in The Godfather or Scarface? The man can act!

    This famous actor had a significant role in Insomnia, which is one of Nolan's worst movies, but whatever.

21. Ken Watanabe

    He did Saito in my beloved Inception.

    Inception and Batman Begins.

22. Gary Oldman

    

    Sir Gary Leonard Oldman is an English actor and filmmaker. Renowned for his versatility and intense acting style, Oldman is one of the most celebrated actors of his generation, with a diverse career encompassing theatre, film, and television. He has received a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award... read more

    Whoops, I completely overlooked him and forgot to add him to this list. Sorry!

23. Anne Hathaway

    

    Anne Jacqueline Hathaway is an American actress and singer. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Millburn, New Jersey. Hathaway was inspired to act by her mother, Kate McCauley Hathaway, a former actress.

    As a high school student, she was nominated for the Paper Mill Playhouse Rising... read more

    Interstellar and The Dark Knight Rises.

24. Dileep Rao

    Yusuf in Inception.

25. Scarlett Johansson

    

    Scarlett Johansson (born November 22, 1984) is an American actress, model, and singer. She made her film debut in North (1994).

    Johansson is considered one of Hollywood's modern sex symbols and has frequently appeared on published lists of the sexiest women in the world.... read more

    Who doesn't know Scarlett? Most people don't know her roles outside of the MCU, but she had a part to play in The Prestige.

26. Elliot Page

    Ariadne in Inception.