Christopher Nolan is known for inspired casting choices, and one of his most genius, unconventional castings was a supporting player in The Prestige. Nolan blends unexpected casting with deep character work, resulting in performances that surprise and captivate audiences and critics. For example, the casting announcements for both Heath Ledger as The Joker in The Dark Knight and Harry Styles as Alex in Dunkirk were met with skepticism, but the performances won over audiences. Likewise, Bowie’s portrayal of Nikola Tesla in The Prestige stands out as one of Nolan's best casting decisions.
In real life, Nikola Tesla was a Serbian engineer and inventor best known for his pioneering work in electricity, a rival of Thomas Edison’s in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In The Prestige, which centers on the feud between two magicians, Bowie’s Tesla plays a small but pivotal role. The Prestige blurs the boundaries between magic and science, passion and obsession, making David Bowie an intriguing choice by Christopher Nolan to portray Tesla’s idiosyncratic genius. Before Tesla is formally introduced in The Prestige, Tesla is described as “a wizard… someone who can actually do what magicians pretend to do.”
David Bowie As Nikola Tesla Was Very Inspired Casting By Christopher Nolan
Bowie Doesn't Have A Lot Of Screen Time But Steals The Show
Nolan’s version of Tesla must make an impact with limited screen time, only about 10 minutes interspersed throughout The Prestige's two-hour run time. Tesla must convey intelligence, eccentricity, and magnetism without laborious speeches, and therein lies the brilliance of Bowie’s casting. Bowie inherently brings a sense of otherworldliness and gravitas. Tesla, in real life and in The Prestige, pushed the boundaries of science, and Bowie has a natural association with futurism and technology through his music and persona. Without the need for speechifying, Bowie makes Tesla a compelling character.
The Prestige is interested in futurism, clouding the line between science and magic. Tesla tells a frustrated Angier that even “exact science is not an exact science.” Tesla cautions Angier that humanity only accepts changes in small increments, and Tesla’s words are proven true when Angier debuts his new closing “trick” to a theater booker using Tesla’s completed machine, and the booker says: “it’s rare to see real magic. You’ll have to dress it up. Disguise it. Give them enough reason to doubt it.”
David Bowie’s Tesla Is One Of The Reasons Why Nolan’s The Prestige Works So Well
The Star Helped Sell The Illusion, Literally
Nolan’s Tesla in The Prestige is wise but morally ambiguous. Tesla is willing to help Hugh Jackman’s Robert Angier on his quest even while warning him against the danger of letting an obsession take control. Tesla is intelligent to the point of near omniscience, having already started working on the machine Angier was about to commission. Bowie’s enigmatic presence sells Tesla as a misunderstood genius.
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Bowie plays Tesla almost like a wizard, which works given The Prestige's ultimate clone twist. Tesla is the enigmatic linchpin of The Prestige, and David Bowie is the perfect choice to help sell the illusion that makes the entire movie work. Without Bowie's inexplicable accent and unmatched charisma, The Prestige would not be the same. As Bowie’s Tesla writes to Angier: “The truly extraordinary is not permitted in science and industry. Perhaps you’ll find more luck in your field [of magic], where people are happy to be mystified.”
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The Prestige
PG-13
Sci-Fi
Mystery
Thriller
Drama
Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, The Prestige follows the lives of two stage magicians in Victorian London. Once colleagues, Robert Angier and Alfred Borden become hated rivals after a tragedy involving Angier's wife tears them apart. The two magicians each go on to have their own lives and careers while competing to see who can pull off a seemingly impossible teleportation trick. Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale star as Angier and Borden.
- Director
- Christopher Nolan
- Release Date
- October 20, 2006
- Studio(s)
- Warner Bros. Pictures
- Writers
- Jonathan Nolan , Christopher Nolan
- Cast
- Michael Caine , Christian Bale , Hugh Jackman , Scarlett Johansson , Piper Perabo
- Runtime
- 130 minutes
- Budget
- $40 Million
- Main Genre
- Sci-Fi
