Christopher Nolan reveals the only actor since Heath Ledger to get a standing ovation on set

Christopher Nolan has revealed there’s only one actor who’s managed to get the exact same reaction from his film crew as Heath Ledger in almost 20 years, and it happened while filming The Odyssey.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Nolan said the cast member left everyone on set so blown away that the crew broke into spontaneous applause. According to the director, it’s only the second time he’s ever seen that happen across his entire career.

The actor in question was Samantha Morton, who plays the goddess Circe in The Odyssey. Even though she isn’t on screen for long, Nolan said her role ended up being one of the film’s most important.

“This was a massive film and she is someone who comes in and changes the dynamic,” Nolan said. “In some weird way, the film lived or died over that character. She was the fulcrum. I’ve always admired Samantha’s work, she brings so much depth of thinking about her role, there are no limitations on her performance.

“After one of her takes, the crew gave her a great round of applause. I was talking with Emma [Thomas, Nolan’s producing partner and wife] afterwards and she remembered that the last time that had happened was with Heath Ledger on The Dark Knight.”

Considering Heath Ledger’s Joker is widely seen as one of the greatest performances in modern cinema, that’s a pretty huge compliment.

Nolan also explained why he filled The Odyssey with such a ridiculously star-studded cast. Rather than casting famous names just for the sake of it, he said he felt larger-than-life mythological characters needed equally iconic actors to bring them to life.

“These are mythological figures, iconic in some ways. I wanted to cast it big, get the finest bunch of actors.”

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