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.
