Oppenheimer was one of the biggest films of 2023 and arguably Christopher Nolan‘s best. As the director leads the race in the Best Director category at the upcoming Oscars, how would his possible win fare against his record at the prestigious film awards?
Nolan hasn’t always been a big studio director making billion-dollar movies. He started his career making short films and indies like 1998’s Following, but it wasn’t long before he was on the Academy’s radar.
Does Christopher Nolan have an Oscar?
Not yet. Oppenheimer might finally change this scenario for the beloved British filmmaker, but as of January 2024, Nolan has yet to win an Academy Award. He has, however, been nominated a number of times.
As early as 2002, Nolan found himself among the list of Oscar nominees for Best Original Screenplay (then with a slightly different name) alongside his brother Jonathan for the brilliant psychological thriller Memento. The winner was Julian Fellowes for Gosford Park.
Unfortunately, it would be eight years before he was nominated again, this time for Inception, which is arguably his most famous film next to his 2023 epic about the Father of the Atomic Bomb. The Leonardo DiCaprio-led sci-fi-influenced action film received nods not only in the Best Original Screenplay category, but in the big one too ⏤ Best Picture. Nolan lost out to The King’s Speech in both.
Nolan’s third Oscar darling came with Dunkirk in 2017/2018. The star-studded World War II epic brought him his first nomination for Best Director, as well as another Best Picture distinction. The competition was just too fierce, as Guillermo del Toro and his audacious The Shape of Water swept both categories.
Will things change for Nolan in 2024? Only time will tell.
