Interstellar Director Christopher Nolan Jokes He Wouldn’t Let Timothée Chalamet ‘Do Crazy S***’ on Set

Christopher Nolan may be known for mind-bending movies, but when it comes to directing actors, he keeps a tight grip — even with stars like Timothée Chalamet.

During a recent IMAX 70mm screening of Interstellar at AMC Universal CityWalk in Los Angeles, Chalamet sat down with Nolan to reflect on making the 2014 sci-fi epic. What followed was a funny and revealing exchange about creative control on set.

Chalamet, now 30, played the younger version of Tom — the son of Matthew McConaughey’s Cooper — in the film. At the time, he was still early in his career, years before his breakout role in Call Me by Your Name.

Looking back, Chalamet asked Nolan whether he ever gives certain actors “a little more bandwidth” to experiment.

Nolan’s answer? A blunt — and hilarious — no.

“No, I don’t indulge people like you doing crazy s***,” the Oscar-winning director said, laughing.

He pointed to a specific scene in which Chalamet’s character records emotional messages for his father, who is traveling through space in search of a new home for humanity. Nolan recalled that Chalamet pushed for a darker tone than he had envisioned.

“It felt too much for me. I didn’t particularly like it,” Nolan admitted. “I told you about it, and you went ahead and did whatever the f*** you wanted.”

Chalamet burst out laughing at the memory — mostly because he didn’t remember it at all.

“I don’t even remember that! That’s crazy,” he said. “I didn’t even think you knew my name, man.”

Nolan joked back, “I might not have known your name, but I knew what you were doing.”

But the moment wasn’t about clashing egos. Nolan explained that Chalamet wasn’t being stubborn — he had carefully planned his performance choices and wanted to see them through.

“You had planned what you wanted to do,” Nolan said. “You wanted to test that and challenge that and see if I kept coming back, which I didn’t. I’ll find a logic to that in the edit suite.”

In fact, Nolan later realized that the emotional edge Chalamet brought to his scenes helped shape the arc of the older version of Tom, played by Casey Affleck. Even if he didn’t fully see it at the time, it worked in the bigger picture.

“As a director, you are looking for an actor to interpret the script in their own way,” Nolan explained. “And you have a point of view.”

He made it clear that directing isn’t about “letting people off the leash.” Instead, it’s about understanding what each actor needs and guiding them toward the best version of the story.

Interstellar went on to become one of Nolan’s most beloved films, earning several Oscar nominations, including Best Visual Effects. The movie also starred Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain and Matt Damon, and followed Cooper’s journey across the galaxy to find a new planet for humanity.

For Chalamet, the film marked one of his first major big-screen roles — long before he became one of Hollywood’s biggest young stars. And while Nolan may not have given him total freedom back then, it’s clear he was paying attention.

Even if he didn’t quite know his name yet.