Christopher Nolan has been one of most beloved and much lauded filmmakers for many years now. The man has brought movie fans everything from one of the best movies of the 2000s, Memento, to some of the greatest science-fiction movies like Inception and Interstellar, and Oscar winners like The Dark Knight trilogy and Oppenheimer. Another film that ranks as one of Nolan’s best movies would be 2020’s twisty Tenet, which stars John David Washington. Now the actor has admitted to a very unexpected rule that people are held to after working with the famed director.
What Rule Did John David Washington Say That Actors Who Work With Christopher Nolan Are Held To?
John David Washington has come a long way since co-starring on Dwayne Johnson’s HBO football drama, Ballers for five seasons, because it wasn’t long after that series began that he started to land leading roles in movies like Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman, and Christopher Nolan’s mind-bender, Tenet.
It wasn’t long ago that the star said he thought Nolan was “shaking up the industry” when he decided to make a Black man the lead of a big-budget sci-fi/action spectacular, and now he’s opened up to Esquire about a wild rule I really wouldn’t have expected the filmmaker to hold his actors to. When asked if he’s ever kept any costumes from movies like Beckett, Amsterdam and The Piano Lesson (which he made with his brother, Malcolm), he answered rather mysteriously:
Jeffrey Kurland dressed us for Tenet, and I definitely kept some of those suits. I’m relieved that I can talk about it now, because I was keeping it under lock and key for years.
Now, it’s not exactly a secret that actors frequently finish production on movies or television shows and have been known to take props or clothing with them as mementos of their time working on said project. Keanu Reeves has admitted to having things from the sets of The Matrix, John Wick and other movies, though he was, apparently, gifted those items. Meanwhile, MCU star Tom Holland admitted to stealing major props from every set he’s on, and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning lead Hayley Atwell was known as “Klepto Atwell,” on set due to her “rampant thievery,” which may have led to her actually taking a pair of Tom Cruise’s socks.
So, why the years-long secrecy when it comes to Washington having kept some of the incredibly dapper suits he wore in the Nolan movie, especially since it seems he was allowed to walk off with the clothing? Well, he explained:
I was told: don’t say anything to anybody until [Nolan’s] done two more films. It’s just how the Nolan does it, and I respect it. And so I just wore it around the house, especially during the pandemic.
Alright, y’all. This is wild to me. I can’t help but wonder if this rule is because while Nolan is OK with prop and wardrobe personnel handing out items to talent, he would simply prefer not to have it confirmed until he’s way past any work for that particular movie, or if he just doesn’t want to know about actors taking things from set until he can’t possibly be held responsible for it anymore. Either way, it’s such a specific restriction when it comes to being honest about what you got from set. I mean, why not tell people to wait until a year after filming? Is there some legal statute of limitations he’s actually trying to help everyone (including himself) get past?
I suppose it doesn’t totally matter at this point, and if we happen to see Washington step out in some ‘fits that look super familiar, at least we’ll know why.
