A lot of filmmakers have an actor they consider their good luck charm, but with Christopher Nolan he’s noted for having two – Michael Caine and Cillian Murphy.
Both actors became a staple of Nolan’s work starting with “Batman Begins,” the film which (combined with “Casino Royale” a year later) in many ways set the modern template for how to effectively reboot a franchise.
When breaking down Nolan’s Bat trilogy, “The Dark Knight” is held as the pinnacle and yet both the other films have their key supporters claiming their film is better. ‘Begins’ is certainly the closest to a pure comic book movie of the three as the follow-ups turned more towards crime epics in tone.
For Caine though, who played Alfred Pennyworth in the films, he told The Hindu the other week that ‘Begins’ holds a special place in his heart and it began with his first meeting with Nolan:
He came to the front door of my house in the country with a script. I could see him through the glass but I couldn’t recognize him. The moment he introduced himself, I knew exactly who he was because I was a great fan of his three small films.
I told him, ‘I am too old for Batman. Do you want me to play the butler? What would my dialogues be? Would you like another beverage or more custard?’ So, I did the movie and it was one of the greatest things I have done in my life.
Caine subsequently appeared in all of Nolan’s other films including “The Prestige,” “Inception,” “Interstellar,” “Dunkirk” (as a voiceover) and the upcoming “Tenet”.