When Irrfan Khan turned down Christopher Nolan’s ‘Interstellar’

Writer and director Christopher Nolan is famous for his masterful film direction and his penchant for cerebral and complex storytelling. While many actors and actresses would hope, pray, and grapple with peers to land an acting job in a Nolan project, there have been some actors over the years who have turned down opportunities to star in a film directed by the Oscar-nominated filmmaker. Here are 7 actors who passed up the opportunity to work with Nolan, including the late Irrfan Khan.

1. Josh Hartnett

The Pearl Harbor (2001) actor turned down the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne in the $373-million-grossing blockbuster hit Batman Begins (2005), which then went on to become the first installation in the critically acclaimed The Dark Knight Trilogy.

Hartnett refused to take up the iconic vigilante’s cape because he had witnessed his colleagues who had been typecast and had struggled to accumulate diverse acting credentials after playing a superhero in a film. In 2020, he told The Metro, "I didn't want to be boxed into that superhero type. Back then a lot of actors had to fight really hard to get their career back after they played those characters."

Despite having refused to play the part of the masked crusader as Nolan had envisioned it, Hartnett got the chance to work in the filmmaker most recent box-office hit Oppenheimer (2023) in which he embodies the role of real-life American nuclear physicist Ernest Lawrence.

2. Matt Damon

Screenrant reported that Matt Damon had been considered to play the role of Harvey Dent in the $1 billion-grossing blockbuster hit The Dark Knight (2008). However, The Bourne Identity (2022) lead actor was forced to pass up the role due to clashing filming schedules with Clint Eastwood’s biographical sports film Invictus (2009). The part eventually went to Aaron Eckhart.

Even after having to pass up this opportunity, Damon still got the opportunity to work with Nolan in 2014’s Interstellar and the director’s most recent masterstroke Oppenheimer (2023) in which he plays real-life United States Army Corps Engineer Leslie Groves.

3. Anthony Hopkins

Oscar-winning veteran actor Anthony Hopkins was offered the role of Alfred Pennyworth, Batman’s trusted butler and confidante, for the first installment in The Dark Knight Trilogy, but he passed up the role. The reason for his refusal remains unknown and the part eventually went to Michael Caine who then reprised his role in the next two installments of the film series.

4. Harrison Ford

Actor Harrison Ford of Indiana Jones fame was set to play the protagonist Detective Will Dormer in the psychological thriller Insomnia (2002). However, he stepped down from the role after the original director of the film, director Jonathan Demme, exited the project. Demme was then replaced by Christopher Nolan who went on to cast Al Pacino in the lead, and that’s how Ford missed the chance to work with the celebrated filmmaker.  

5. Will Smith

Looper.com reported that Leonardo DiCaprio was not director Christopher Nolan’s first choice for the role of the protagonist Domm Cobb in his Academy-Award-winning film Inception (2010). He had first approached Will Smith to play the role, but the Seven Pounds (2008) actor rejected the role due to reasons unknown and missed his chance to collaborate with the accomplished director.

6. Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt was in talks with Christopher Nolan to fulfill the lead role in one of his earliest projects titled Memento (2000), but the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) actor eventually decided to pass up the role. The role of Leonard Shelby went to actor Guy Pearce instead.

7. Irrfan Khan

The late Indian actor Irrfan Khan was no stranger to Hollywood when he was offered a part in Christopher Nolan’s $773-million-grossing box-office hit Interstellar (2014), but the veteran actor was forced to pass up the role due to scheduling conflicts with The Lunchbox (2013) and D-Day (2013)—projects he had already committed to before he was approached by Nolan.

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