Christopher Nolan's favorite James Bond film and actor are from different eras

There are a lot of James Bond fans. Today, most of them were introduced to the character through movies, which always encouraged them to enjoy themselves through Ian Fleming's brilliantly readable novels. When they discover the other side of this experience, they are either more selective about the movies or more open to the people that this licensed-to-kill MI6 agent can contain, depending on who is writing him and of course who is brandishing the trusty Walther PPK (or on for a short time the latest Walther P99).

Even after reading the books, people's 007 preferences tend to run across generations. Baby Boomers swear by Sean Connery, Gen X-ers have an easy spot for the quirky Roger Moore, Gen X-ers who found their way through the 80s and 90s support Timothy Dalton, and Millennials. like Pierce Brosnan, but I absolutely adore Daniel Craig. Zoomer is still waiting for his Bond, and thanks to the ongoing controversy between longtime 007 producer Barbara Broccoli and Amazon Studios, it looks like they'll be waiting quite a while. But for those of us who have seen all the films multiple times and spent hours arguing with friends and 007 travelers about Fleming's secret agent, Bond's sweet spot is much more elusive.

This is especially true for filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino and Steven Soderbergh, who have both taken on the character (if you've never read the latter's acclaimed On Her Majesty's Secret Service, please fix it). And that's a deadly serious question for Christopher Nolan, who has said that his 2010 sci-fi/action film Inception is essentially his Bond movie. (I think “Tenet” is also in the Bond fold.) Given his age (54), you'd think Nolan was either a Roger Moore follower or perhaps an old-school Connery. But while he's very fond of both, his favorite Bond and favorite Bond movie might not be what you'd expect (although if you're a 007 devotee, you'll know exactly where that falls).

Nolan's favorite James Bond film of all time is actually 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service. According to the filmmaker, “It's a hell of a movie, it holds up very well.” If you think this is an odd choice, given that its star George Lazenby is considered the worst Bond of the 62-year-old franchise, a) Lazenby is okay, if a little dry, b) Diana Rigg's Tracy is up to date. the best Bond love interest to date, and c) the massive action sequences are expertly staged, shot and edited by director Peter R. Hunt.

As Nolan once told Empire (via Playlist):

“What I loved about 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service', which we've tried to emulate in this film ('Inception'), is a huge balance between action and scale and romance and tragedy and emotion. Out of all the Bond films, this is the most emotional. There's a love story, and 'Inception' is kind of a love story as well as anything.

As for Nolan's favorite Bond actor, yes no Lazenby. It's actually Daltonwho, according to Nolan, comes closest to embodying the ruthless and ruthless 007 of Fleming's books. The only reason why Dalton is not more popular is the timing of his casting: Pierce Brosnan was supposed to inherit the role from Roger Moore after “A View to a Kill” , but NBC forced him to return for an unwanted fifth film. season “Remington Steele”. So when The Living Daylights came out in 1987, many moviegoers couldn't help but compare Dalton to the very different Brosnan.

If those choices still aren't right, you need to revisit On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Living Daylights, and about the first half of License to Kill. Nolan knows his Bond and these are excellent choices.