Fresh off the BARBENHEIMER experience, it's no doubt that cinema has won. I noticed something that turned a lightbulb in my mind as I watched Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer.
I could easily use this space to make a think-piece to accompany the umpteenth number of them already made by all kinds of people. Instead, I'm going to ask a question: Is Christopher Nolan a fan of the old sitcom Frasier?
Yes, you read that question right. It could be just a freak coincidence, but there are three actors from different Nolan films who were also on the show, starring Kelsey Grammer, which was a Cheers spin-off featuring the character Frasier Crane. Such a coincidence, though, makes me wonder if it's actually done deliberately. Is Mr. Nolan a fan of that show, that he's cast three actors from it throughout his filmography? Who knows? I certainly don't. But it's fun to speculate!
First, in Oppenheimer, there is a board interrogating J. Robert Oppenheimer, and one of the characters is Gordon Gray, played by Tony Goldwyn. He's an actor with many credits to his name. One of them was an appearance on Frasier as Roger, the love interest of the character Roz. It was an episode in which she feels ashamed of being with him because he was a garbageman.
In The Prestige (2006), there's a character named Ackerman, who was "the best theatrical agent in London" in the movie.
The actor is Edward Hibbert, who also played Gil Chesterton in Frasier. Chesterton was the flamboyant, snappy, and sassy food critic of the station Frasier worked in.
And finally, we arrive at Mrs. Jankis from Memento (2000). Her husband Sammy Jankis was investigated by Leonard Shelby to make sure he wasn't faking his mental condition and therefore, he'd get his insurance.
She was played by the great Harriet Samson Harris. In Frasier, she played Bebe Glazer, the title character's hilariously psychotic agent. Personally, one of my favorite characters from that show.
Coincidence? Or is Mr. Nolan a fan of Frasier? I actually Googled "Is Christopher Nolan a fan of Frasier?" to no results that answer that question. One thing's for sure: if another actor from that show appears in future Nolan films, my mind will race and this theory MUST have legs!
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