Christopher Nolan’s resurfaced photo from 1990 is proof he would have been fine had directing not worked out

Christopher Nolan is one of the most brilliant filmmaking minds of 21st Century Hollywood. With his cerebral films that deftly examine the metaphysical notions of time, memory, and personal identity, the 52-year-old director has carved out a special place for himself in the world of cinema. However, a recently resurfaced photo of Nolan from his early days has convinced fans that the award-winning director could have made it big in acting and/or modeling, too.

In the wake of Nolan’s upcoming release Oppenheimer, which marks the 13th feature film of his career, @nofilmschool shared a picture of a 20-year-old Nolan. The black and white passport photo of him is apparently from 1990 when Nolan worked as a cameraman. No Film School captioned the tweet “A young cameraman by the name of Christopher Nolan (1990)”

Fans immediately took to the tweet, apparently in awe of Nolan’s mesmerizing looks. The picture is reminiscent of the visionary director’s humble beginnings, but the passion in his innocent eyes is evident. As one user pointed out, “he had no idea what was ahead of him,” which is what makes the photo so special.

But apart from appreciating the throwback to his younger years, Twitter users seemed to be completely hypnotized by the dashing appearance of a young Nolan. The replies are full of users commenting on his heroic looks, which just proves that had directing not worked out for him, a likely successful career in front of the camera would have been all but guaranteed.

One user @ColinBest1978 replied saying, “If the filmmaking hadn’t worked out, am surprised he wasn’t running a side hustle modeling.” Another user @REVOLVO_OCELOT commented, “By the looks, He would’ve cast himself.” But another interesting thing that users pointed out is Nolan’s hair, which seems unchanged ever since. The British-American legend still dons his golden hair in the same style as he did 32 years ago.

According to Ian Nathan’s 2022 book Christopher Nolan: The Iconic Filmmaker and His Work, Nolan started making films when he was just seven years old and, as luck would have it, you’ll be able to check out his latest creation incredibly soon.

Catch Nolan’s latest upcoming release Oppenheimer in Cinemas on July 21.