Jonathan Nolan (born 6 June 1976) is a British and American screenwriter and producer. He is the creator of theCBS science fiction seriesPerson of Interest (2011–2016) andco-creator of theHBO science fiction/Western seriesWestworld (2016–2022).
Nolan has collaborated on several films with his brother, film directorChristopher Nolan, who adapted Jonathan's short story "Memento Mori" into the neo-noir thriller filmMemento (2000). Together, the brothersco-wrote the mystery-thriller filmThe Prestige (2006), the superhero filmsThe Dark Knight (2008) andThe Dark Knight Rises (2012), and the science-fiction filmInterstellar (2014). In 2024, he executive produced and directed the first three episodes of the television series adaptation ofFallout.
Nolan was born on 6 June 1976 inLondon,[1][2] the youngest of three boys. His father Brendan James Nolan, is British, and his mother, Christina Lynn (née Jensen), is American. He was raised in both London andChicago. Nolan attendedGeorgetown University, where he majored in English and was a staff writer forThe Hoya.[3]
Nolan's short story "Memento Mori" was used by his older brother, directorChristopher Nolan, as the basis for the filmMemento.[4] Although Jonathan received a "based on a story by" credit, not a screenwriting credit, the brothers shared a nomination for theAcademy Award for Best Original Screenplay as the film was released before the story was published.[5]
In 2005, Jonathan and Christopher co-wrote the screenplay forThe Prestige, which is based onChristopher Priest's novel of the same title.[6] Jonathan also wrote the story springboards for the six animated short films ofBatman: Gotham Knight.[7] The brothers collaborated on the screenplay for the 2008 filmThe Dark Knight. The film went on to become the most financially successfulBatman film, which has since been surpassed by its sequel,The Dark Knight Rises.[8]
Nolan wrote the screenplay forInterstellar, a science-fiction feature based on the works of theoretical physicistKip Thorne, who served as the film's executive producer.[9] Christopher Nolan co-wrote, directed and produced the film, with Paramount distributing domestically, while Warner Bros. distributed internationally.[10][11][12]
Nolan andLisa Joy wrote a pilot for an adaptation ofWestworld,Michael Crichton's1973 science fiction Western thriller of the same name. On 31 August 2013, it was announced thatHBO had ordered a pilot for a show, with Nolan, Joy, Weintraub,J. J. Abrams, andBryan Burk as executive producers, and Nolan making his directorial debut.[13] The pilot was subsequently picked up to series, with Nolan and Joy as co-showrunners, and premiered on 2 October 2016. In November 2016, HBO renewed the show for a 10-episode second season, that started in April 2018.[14][15] On 1 May 2018, following the first two episodes of Season 2, the series was renewed for a third season.[16]
In 2019, it was announced that Nolan and Joy had signed a $150 million deal to createThe Peripheral forAmazon Prime Video.[17] Since they signed on, they earned at least $20 million a year as part of their first-look deal withAmazon Studios. AlongsideThe Peripheral, they executive produced the seriesFallout, based on the popularvideo game series in collaboration withBethesda Game Studios, as part of the deal.[18][19] In 2025, it was reported Nolan and Joy had signed on to executive produce the seriesWolfenstein, also based on thegame series by Bethesda Softworks, in collaboration with developerMachineGames for Prime Video.[20]
In a 2006 interview, Nolan claimed that after moving to Chicago at a young age, his English accent proved to be "very unpopular" and so he learnt to "sound like a good Chicago kid."[6]
When contemplating the artistic differences between himself andhis brother, Nolan remarked: "I've always suspected that it has something to do with the fact that he's left-handed and I'm right-handed, because he is somehow able to look at my ideas and flip them around in a way that's just a bit more twisted and interesting. It's great to be able to work with him that way."[21]
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