Christopher Nolan is famously uncompromising when it comes to filmmaking, but there’s one line he refuses to cross on set—a ban that has amused and bewildered actors: the prohibition of UGG boots.
An Unmistakable Annoyance
There’s one thing Christopher Nolan absolutely does not allow on set. He’s compared it to “someone eating a bag of chips during a movie”—the kind of minor disruption that “suddenly snaps you back to reality, when we’re trying to create a separate universe for the actors. I want to stay in the moment.”
For Nolan, staying in the moment means one particular item must stay out of sight: UGGs. Or, as he described them on CBS Mornings, “those big, soft, squishy slippers,” with apparent distaste.
A Real Distraction
The director’s aversion makes practical sense—after all, these Australian boots hardly make sense in, say, an epic inspired by Homer. Actors often favor them between takes to spare their aching feet, but Nolan isn’t swayed.
“There are just certain things that remind you you’re in the real world, as opposed to the world we’re trying to create for the actors,”
he explained.
“For me, UGG boots are a symbol of modernity, as ridiculous as that might sound.”
No amount of blisters or cold feet has made Nolan reconsider. Actors trying to sneak UGGs on set quickly find out it’s a non-starter.
Actors Who Tried—Unsuccessfully—to Change His Mind
Anne Hathaway shared that she once tried to show up in UGGs. Nolan “looked down before saying: ‘No.’” She laughed about it, telling USA Today, “I just said, ‘No problem!’ And I never wore them again.”
Matt Damon, one of Nolan's stars in The Odyssey, confirmed that Nolan “hates UGGs more than anything.” Emily Blunt, who worked with Nolan on Oppenheimer, joked that he has “a serious problem” with the boots.
“One day, I showed up wearing them, and it felt just like The Devil Wears Prada,”
Blunt recalled. “He literally stared at them. I said: ‘Come on, Chris…’” she tried, but Nolan was unmoved. “He told me: ‘Take them off,’” Blunt recounted on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in 2024.
A Wrap Gift With a Wink
Blunt got the last word, gifting Nolan a pair of UGGs as a wrap present. The director admitted, “UGGs are great… just not on set.”
The Odyssey is now showing in theaters—UGGs and bags of chips strictly kept off the set.
