Christopher Nolan has never hidden his admiration for James Bond, and now he has finally named the entries that sit at the very top of his personal 007 canon. For the filmmaker, On Her Majesty's Secret Service remains the definitive Bond film, while Timothy Dalton stands as his favorite actor to portray Ian Fleming's iconic spy. It is a fitting choice from a director whose own filmography has long echoed the emotional weight, espionage mechanics, and practical spectacle that made Bond a cinematic institution.

The answers themselves are revealing. The reasoning behind them says even more about how Nolan views James Bond as both myth and man.

Christopher Nolan shared his favorite James Bond film and actor during an appearance on Josh Horowitz's Happy Sad Confused podcast. 

 "My favorite Bond film is On Her Majesty's Secret Service, as anyone who has seen Inception can probably figure out."

 He then named Timothy Dalton as his favorite Bond actor, adding that The Living Daylights is "very, very good," although he felt its climax falls short in technical execution. Nolan also praised Licence to Kill, saying it has "aged better" than he expected and arguing that Dalton is "closest to the character in the book." He added that it would have been interesting to see Dalton play Bond in more films.

Nolan's choices in the chat reflect his long-standing appreciation for the more emotionally grounded side of Bond. Released in 1969, On Her Majesty's Secret Service remains unique within the franchise for placing Bond's personal tragedy ahead of gadgetry and spectacle, a narrative approach that many fans have linked to the emotional architecture of Inception. Dalton's tenure, meanwhile, has enjoyed a critical reassessment in recent years. His portrayal in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill embraced Ian Fleming's harder-edged literary Bond long before Daniel Craig popularized a similarly grounded interpretation. For many Bond historians, Dalton was simply ahead of his time.

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Nolan's Bond admiration arrives at a fascinating moment in his own career, with another ambitious cinematic journey preparing to make its theatrical debut.

Universal Pictures is expecting Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey to debut between $90 million and $100 million across approximately 3,900 North American theaters, positioning it for the director's strongest opening weekend since The Dark Knight Rises in 2012. If the film crosses the $100 million mark, it will become only the third release of 2026 to achieve that milestone after Toy Story 5 and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Industry expectations have been strengthened by Nolan's extraordinary post-Oppenheimer momentum.

The scale of The Odyssey reflects that confidence. Produced on a reported budget of around $250 million, with an estimated $125 million global marketing campaign, the Homer adaptation represents Nolan's most technically ambitious project to date. It is the first feature film shot entirely with IMAX cameras and will receive an exclusive three-week IMAX run, underscoring Nolan's continued commitment to premium theatrical exhibition. 

Christopher Nolan's favorite Bond picks reveal the influences behind his filmmaking, while The Odyssey demonstrates how those cinematic ideals continue to evolve on an epic scale. 

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Which James Bond film and actor would top your own list? Share your thoughts in the comments.