Actors In Christopher Nolan Movies You May Not Know Passed Away

It's hard to believe that Christopher Nolan has been writing, directing and producing films for almost a quarter of a century. The cerebral filmmaker, known for his twisty narratives that frequently play out in a non-linear fashion, made his feature debut with 1998's "Following," and has been working fairly consistently ever since, averaging a new directorial effort every two to three years. While there are certainly elements that seem to pop up in all of his films, they are also some of the most original big-budget productions in the modern cinematic landscape, frequently being met with critical and commercial praise. He has even garnered a total of five Oscar nominations for his work on "Memento," "Inception," and "Dunkirk," respectively.

With over two decades in the film industry and 11 feature films to his credit (not to mention next summer's hotly anticipated "Oppenheimer"), it's no surprise that Nolan has collaborated with a wide range of talent. Indeed, some of the most celebrated actors of both the past and present can proudly place at least one of his films on their resumes. But as can happen when you work with such a bevy of talent over such a long span of time, a number of the performers who have helped to bring his stories to life are sadly no longer with us. Some were huge stars, others were humble character actors, yet all are worthy of remembrance. Let's take a moment to celebrate 14 actors who have passed away since working with Christopher Nolan.

Christopher Nolan is well-known for working with the same actors over and over; just ask Michael Caine, who has appeared in every one of his films since "Batman Begins." But the first of his many regulars was actually a character actor named Larry Holden. The two first teamed up on Nolan's second feature, "Memento," where Holden plays the small but significant role of Jimmy Grantz, a drug dealer who the memory-damaged protagonist (Guy Pearce) takes a particular interest in towards the end of the film. Holden would go on to appear in "Insomnia" as a detective who accidentally alerts the killer to the police's presence, and returned for "Batman Begins" as Gotham D.A. Carl Finch, who worked with Batman's love interest Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes) in prosecuting a number of criminals, including Joe Chill (Richard Brake) and mob boss Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson).

Outside of his work with Nolan, Holden racked up a respectable number of film and TV credits after first appearing in the 1991 drama "The Arc," frequently popping up for an episode or two in long-running series such as "Charmed," "ER," and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation." On the film front, he took on leading roles in 1998's "Every Dog Has Its Day" and 2007's "Downtime," as well as playing co-leads in 2009's "The Outsider" and 2012's "Open Vacancy." He even wrote and directed the 2002 drama "My Father's House." Holden passed away following a brief illness in 2011, at the age of 49.

Dutch actor Rutger Hauer gained his fair share of notoriety for playing villainous roles in the '70s and '80s, and while his sinister portfolio might make him a perfect fit for a Batman villain on paper, Christopher Nolan utilized the actor's talents in a less obvious manner. In "Batman Begins," Hauer plays Wayne Enterprises CEO William Earle, who takes over the company following the death of Thomas and Martha Wayne and the disappearance of their son Bruce (Christian Bale). Though not a villain in the traditional sense, Earle is clearly motivated by greed and isn't above firing valued staff members (like Morgan Freeman's Lucius Fox) or reprioritizing the company's business model to focus less on charity and more on weapons manufacturing.

After breaking out in his native Netherlands with several early Paul Verhoeven collaborations (most notably the Oscar-nominated "Turkish Delight"), he transitioned to Hollywood with meaty parts in films like 1981's "Nighthawks" opposite Sylvester Stallone, and Richard Donner's medieval adventure "Ladyhawke." Though he crafted a nightmarish killer for his role in "The Hitcher," it was Ridley Scott's sci-fi masterpiece "Blade Runner" in 1982 that landed him his most iconic character, that of renegade replicant Roy Batty, whose oft-quoted monologue towards the end of the film was partly improvised by the actor. Hauer passed away at 75 after a brief illness in 2019.

Who among us is not already familiar with the man, the myth, the legend that was David Bowie? The trailblazing musician was no stranger to the occasional acting gig here and there, and among the most well-known of these was his turn as real-life scientific mastermind Nikola Tesla in Nolan's fifth film, "The Prestige." In this story about two warring magicians whose escalating game of one-upmanship reveals itself to have deadly consequences, Tesla is sought out by Hugh Jackman's Robert Angier, who believes that the scientist built a teleporting machine for his rival, Alfred Borden (Christian Bale). The eccentric Tesla warns Angier about the potential cost of such an obsession, but does ultimately construct the machine before being run out of town by his own rival, an unseen Thomas Edison.

Bowie's contributions to the worlds of music, fashion, and film are too numerous to list here. From his glam rock alter-ego Ziggy Stardust, to his many wildly successful albums, to his 1981 collaboration with Queen on the song "Under Pressure," the man would be considered an icon even if he'd never set foot on a film set. Fortunately for all of us, he did, gracing the screen with a number of inspired performances, including 1976's "The Man Who Fell to Earth" (where he plays an alien traveler), 1986's "Labyrinth" (where he plays a goblin king), and 1996's "Basquiat" (where he plays Andy Warhol). The performer passed away at 69 years old in 2016 from liver cancer.

If you're telling a story about rival magicians, there are few seals of approval more prominent than getting an actual magician to participate. Such was the case with Ricky Jay, who played the character of Milton in Nolan's "The Prestige." Once a revered and inventive practitioner of illusions, Milton is now criticized by his up-and-coming stagehand (Christian Bale's Alfred Borden) of becoming lazy and unwilling to experiment with any new acts. It is at Milton's performance of a water cell trick involving Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and his wife Julia (Piper Perabo) that Borden experiments with a different knot, which results in the poor assistant drowning on stage in front of a horrified audience. Though Milton is seen briefly at her funeral, it's doubtful that he's able to return to show business following such an incident.

Widely regarded as one of the most talented sleight-of-hand magicians in the world, Jay was frequently brought onto film productions involving magic as a specialist, and supposedly coached Jackman and Bale on such techniques during the making of "The Prestige." Though renowned for his skill with illusion, he was no slouch when it came to acting, appearing in dozens of projects since the early '80s. Among his most prominent appearances are a pair of collaborations with Paul Thomas Anderson (in "Boogie Nights" and "Magnolia," respectively), as well as playing a supporting villain in the James Bond film "Tomorrow Never Dies." Jay died at 72 in 2018 from natural causes.

A 12-year veteran of the Royal Shakespeare Company, William Morgan Sheppard has a small but memorable role in Christopher Nolan's "The Prestige." Following the death of his wife, Robert Angier seeks out his old mentor John Cutter (Michael Caine) to help with setting up a new show. Cutter goes to Merrit (played by Sheppard), the owner of the Grand Scala theater, who agrees to give Angier a week's run after initially being impressed by his disappearing bird trick. However, after Borden sabotages the show in its first night, Merrit is quick to cancel their engagement in favor of a comedian. Later in the film, he is approached by Ackerman (Edward Hibbert), who proceeds to book Angier's new show for 100 nights, forcing him to cancel the Moscow ballet that was previously scheduled.

A stage veteran with decades of experience both in London and on Broadway, Sheppard also found time to accumulate a whopping 191 film and TV credits over the course of his impressive career. After making his film debut in the 1962 heist drama "Strongroom," he scored a role as the Fencing Master in Ridley Scott's feature debut, "The Duellists," appeared in the 1980 TV adaptation of "Shogun," and went on to play various different characters in a number of "Star Trek" properties, including "The Next Generation," "Voyager," "The Undiscovered Country," and the 2009 reboot directed by J.J. Abrams. The actor passed away in 2019 at the age of 86. No cause of death was released by his family.

Few actors have a screen presence quite as distinct as what Tommy "Tiny" Lister brought to the table. The former wrestler plays a tattooed prisoner that shows up for a single scene towards the end of "The Dark Knight," but despite his limited screen time he leaves a considerable impression. By this point, the Joker (Heath Ledger) has unveiled his final ploy, which is to rig two ferries full of people with explosives. One is filled with civilians, the other with inmates, and each ferry has the remote to blow up the other. As the prison ferry gets unruly and everyone screams at the hapless captain, Lister calmly approaches him and requests the remote. Instead of using it to blow up the other ferry, he throws it out the window, shattering the Joker's theory that people will always destroy each other when desperate.

After concluding his tenure with WWF under the stage names Zeus and ZGangsta, Lister transitioned to acting with a number of roles (such as "8 Million Ways to Die" and "Extreme Prejudice") that took advantage of his 6 foot, 5 inch stature by casting him as a fearsome bodyguard. Before long, he was able to expand his range by playing the neighborhood bully in the "Friday" films, collaborated with Quentin Tarantino for "Jackie Brown," and even played the President of the Galactic Federation in Luc Besson's sci-fi epic "The Fifth Element." Lister was found dead in his home at age 62 in 2020, having succumbed to heart disease.

The Bermuda-born actor Earl Cameron only appears in Christopher Nolan's "Inception" for a minute or two. Yet his single line of dialogue proves not just quite memorable, but plants a seed for the film's ending, which many viewers required additional viewing to fully understand. Dom Cobb goes to visit a chemist (Dileep Rao), whom he is told is able to manufacture a sedative that will knock out him and his team for the length of their required mission. In order to demonstrate the chemical's effectiveness, the chemist introduces Dom to a room full of people currently hooked up to it, who now spend more time dreaming than in the real world. As the Elderly Bald Man (Cameron) who watches over them explains: "The dream has become their reality. Who are you to say otherwise?"

After making his film debut in the 1951 crime drama "Pool of London," Cameron rarely found himself out of work, regularly appearing in film noirs and African-set adventure films such as 1960's "Tarzan the Magnificent" and its follow-up, "Tarzan's Three Challenges." His brief role in "Doctor Who" marked the first time that a black astronaut had been depicted on screen. In 1965, he played a Bahamian ally to James Bond in "Thunderball," and in 2005 played the corrupt president of a fictional African country opposite Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn in "The Interpreter." He passed away in his sleep at the ripe old age of 102 in 2020.