Christopher Nolan’s Favorite James Bond Isn’t Who You Think—“He’s Closest To The Character In The Book

Christopher Nolan’s favorite Bond is a surprise — grounded and truer to the books than the rest!

By
Koimoi.com Team
- May 12, 2025 | 11:07 AM IST
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Bypass the martini-sipping charm of Sean Connery or the brooding grit of Daniel Craig. Christopher Nolan, the guy behind mind-bending blockbusters like Inception and Tenet, has a different Bond in mind. And no, it’s not Pierce Brosnan either. It’s Timothy Dalton, the Bond many fans tend to skip over. Nolan’s pick is the man who only played 007 twice, in The Living Daylights (1987) and Licence to Kill (1989). Of course, it’s a short run, but Dalton left a mark, at least on Nolan. “I think he’s closest to the character in the book,” the director said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast.

Now that’s something Bond fans don’t hear every day. It turns out that Christopher Nolan has been a Bond fanboy all along. He’s not shy about it either. “I’ve been plundering ruthlessly from the Bond movies in everything I’ve done, forever. They’re a huge influence on me,” Nolan admitted in an interview with Empire (per Den of Geek).

Just look at Batman Begins, that jet-setting feel looked like straight out of Bond’s playbook. “The globe-trotting elements of Batman Begins mostly came from the Bond films,” Nolan once said in a resurfaced IndieWire chat. And Inception? Yep, people swore it was Bond with dream logic. Funny thing is, Nolan disagrees. Of all his movies, he found it ironic that Inception caught the most flak for lifting Bond ideas. He says it actually borrowed the least.

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So why Dalton, of all Bonds? Well, Christopher Nolan’s a stickler for authenticity. Dalton’s take on 007 was darker, moodier, and much closer to how Ian Fleming wrote the character. Dalton played him like a spy with baggage. And that serious streak? Nolan clearly vibed with it.

Dalton was ahead of his time. His take felt more grounded, like the Bond we’d see years later in Daniel Craig’s era. But back in the ‘80s, audiences wanted more gadgets and fewer emotional scars. Nolan, though, saw what Dalton was doing. And he’s been channeling that impression ever since.

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