By Australian actor Guy Pearce has had a long and celebrated career, with one of his most famous turns being the leading role in Christopher Nolan’s early film “Memento”.
Nolan is famous for sticking with his various actors across films including Michael Caine, Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon and more. Yet Pearce, and several of his fellow “Memento” co-stars, haven’t appeared in other Nolan projects.
In Pearce’s case though it turns out there was a reason. Speaking with Vanity Fair, he says when Nolan went to work exclusively for films at Warner Bros. Pictures in 2002, Pearce found himself blacklisted from working at both the studio and with Nolan.
Why? It turns out to be incredibly petty – an unnamed Warner Bros. Pictures executive simply didn’t like him. Pearce says:
“He spoke to me about roles a few times over the years. [It was about] the first ‘Batman’ and ‘The Prestige.’ But there was an executive at Warner Bros. who quite openly said to my agent, ‘I don’t get Guy Pearce. I’m never going to get Guy Pearce. I’m never going to employ Guy Pearce.’ So, in a way, that’s good to know. I mean, fair enough; there are some actors I don’t get. But it meant I could never work with Chris.”
Pearce doesn’t hold it against the exec, saying: “I think he just didn’t believe in me as an actor.” The outlet reached out to Warners who did not respond to a request for comment.
Pearce then confirmed that one of those key roles he missed out on was that of iconic Batman villain Ra’s al Ghul who appeared in Nolan’s 2005 feature “Batman Begins”. That role eventually went to Liam Neeson instead:
“They flew me to London to discuss the Liam Neeson role and I think it was decided on my flight that I wasn’t going to be in the movie. So I get there and Chris is like ‘Hey, you want to see the Batmobile and get dinner?’”
When told that Nolan’s done with Warners now, Pearce amusingly says: “So now my time has come!.” Pearce is currently earning rave reviews and potential awards chatter for his supporting role in Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist” which A24 will release in cinemas in limited release next week.
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