Christopher Nolan Reflects On Working With David Bowie

Aside from Labyrinth, The Prestige has to be my favorite David Bowie appearance in film. I remember the reaction my friends and I had when we saw the film in theaters. It was like "Oh s***, it's David Bowie!" Not necessarily the most articulate response, but it gave the effect I think Nolan wanted for the character of Nikola Tesla. Nolan makes me feel kind of vindicated in this interview he did with Entertainment Weekly in 2006, in which he discusses working with the star:

"...He seemed to be the only actor capable of playing the part. He had that requisite iconic status, and he was a figure as mysterious as Tesla needed to be. It took me a while to convince him, though—he turned down the part the first time. It was the only time I can ever remember trying again with an actor who passed on me..."

Turns out Nolan essentially begged Bowie to be a part of the film to get him to agree. The appearance is brief, but encompasses some of the film's better known scenes.

Nolan said Bowie was great on set and took the time to talk with everyone whom he worked with. He even admits he fell for the mystique of the singer in the five days they worked together:

"Normally when you meet stars, no matter how starry they are, when you see them as people, some of that mystique goes away. But not with David Bowie. I came away from the experience being able to say I was still his biggest fan, and a fan who had the very miraculous opportunity to work with him for a moment."

It's cool to hear Nolan say that, as I've always thought that was Bowie's best quality. He was able to make himself known even if you weren't familiar with anything he did. He just had the star status and look! Sad that we lost him.