Who is Flora Nolan? Christopher Nolan reveals emotional reason for casting daughter in crucial 'Oppenheimer' scene
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Christopher Nolan is renowned for using unusual casting in his movies. The latest being his daughter Flora Nolan, who was cast in a small role as a burn victim in his most recent movie, 'Oppenheimer'. Nolan said in an interview with The Telegraph UK that developing the ultimate destructive force will also result in the destruction of individuals who are closest to you. The acclaimed director expressed this idea by portraying his daughter as a burn victim.
Director Nolan is getting ready to bring out 'Oppenheimer,' a three-hour biopic about the man who created the atomic bomb, J Robert Oppenheimer, with Cillian Murphy as the lead character, following the success of his time-traveling spy thriller 'Tenet' in 2020. While the movie will undoubtedly get a few nominations come awards season, Nolan is particularly attached to the movie because of his daughter Flora.
Who is Flora Nolan?
Christopher Thomas and his wife Emma Thomas, a producer, have four children, with Flora being the oldest. She is best recognized as the 'Girl on Truck' in 'Interstellar' (2014), and in 'Oppenheimer', she will portray a girl who is bombed in the movie that opens on Friday, July 21. The 22-year-old currently attends the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.
Why did Christopher cast his daughter in Oppenheimer?
In the interview with The Telegraph, the British director disclosed that his daughter Flora appears in 'Oppenheimer.' She portrays an anonymous female character who appears to Oppenheimer in a vision in which the scientist observes the effects of his creation on physical reality. In other words, he sees the woman's face being destroyed by an atomic bomb. Nolan's decision to cast his daughter in the role was made on the fly, but it left him feeling overcome with emotion as he considered the effects that nuclear explosions can have. "But the point is that if you create the ultimate destructive power it will also destroy those who are near and dear to you," the director said. "So I suppose this was my way of expressing that in what, to me, were the strongest possible terms."
Nolan also clarified that he tries not to examine his own motivations, which makes sense given that the decision to cast his daughter was taken at the last minute. His daughter took a break from University and chose to see her father on the movie set. "We needed someone to do that small part of a somewhat experimental and spontaneous sequence," the director detailed, adding that "it was wonderful to just have her sort of roll with it."