Nolan Explained Why Timothée Chalamet Scenes Were Cut From 'Interstellar': "Never Believe What You Read Online!"

A significant meeting took place at a special screening of Interstellar to mark the anniversary of the cult film. Timothée Chalamet interviewed Christopher Nolan, the director who cast him in one of his first major roles.

Chalamet admitted that Interstellar remains his favorite movie, even though his role was significantly reduced in the editing process.

In response, Nolan explained the reasoning behind this decision and shared memories of the project's inception.

Timothée Chalamet Initially Thought That 'Interstellar' Would Be About a Father and Son

When the young actor landed the role of Tom, the son of Matthew McConaughey's lead character, he went online for context, as any diligent debutante would.

The first few links he found told him that the Interstellar script was originally developed for Steven Spielberg as a drama about a father-son relationship. However, the film ended up focusing on a father-daughter relationship, and Chalamet's role ended up being rather small.

In response, Nolan offered Chalamet (and the rest of us) some helpful advice:

“Never believe what you read online!”

The director explained that the movie had gone through many iterations – his brother, Jonathan Nolan, had worked on the Spielberg script for years – but by the time production began, the concept had changed dramatically.

Christopher Nolan Admitted That Some of Chalamet's Performance Was "Too Much" for Him

However, despite the adjustments to the new script, Chalamet insisted on his interpretation of the character. This was particularly evident in the scene where he records a message for his father.

The actor adopted a deliberately somber tone. Nolan asked him to soften it, but, as it turned out years later, Chalamet deliberately ignored the instruction:

“When you were filming the messages from home, there was a particular thing where you were hitting a dark tone. It felt too much for me. I didn't particularly like it. I told you about it and you went ahead and did whatever the f*ck you wanted and carried on.

But I was like, ‘He knows what he wants to do and has an idea.’ It wasn't about being stubborn. You had planned what you wanted to do.”

Christopher Nolan Recalled How 'Interstellar' Didn't Become a Beloved Hit Right Away

Chalamet and Nolan also discussed another sensitive topic: the movie's mixed reception upon its release. Interstellar grossed $681 million and received five Oscar nominations. However, critics greeted it with lukewarm reviews, and some were even dismissive.

Nolan was particularly offended by one producer's words, who called him "a cold guy who makes cold films." The director said:

“The film was received in a slightly ambiguous way. [...] Some of the responses were a bit sniffy from critics and a little from audiences. [...] There was a sense of people not quite being… it sounds egotistical to say they weren’t ready… but they weren’t ready for it from me.”

Today, more than ten years later, there are no longer any questions about the emotional sincerity of Interstellar.

What Did Critics & Viewers Think of 'Interstellar'?

• Interstellar has 73% from critics and 87% from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes.

• On IMDb, the movie has a score of 8.7/10.

• On Letterboxd, Interstellar scored 4.4/5.0.

Where to Watch 'Interstellar'?

Interstellar is available to stream on HBO Max and Netflix.