

Guy Pearce recently had an epiphany about his performance in the 2000’s film Memento, where he admitted, “I’m sh*t in that movie.” During an interview with The Sunday Times, Pearce opened up about how he really feels about his role in the Christopher Nolan film, calling his sudden realization an, “existential crisis.”
Over two decades after its release, the Australian actor decided to rewatch the film and came to the conclusion that he’s not at all fond of his role as Leonard Shelby. “I watched Memento the other day and I’m still depressed,” Pearce said. Never having any previous doubts about his work in the movie before, he rewatched it last month for a Q&A and realized he actually “hated” it. “I was trying to do a flippant attitude but it was all wrong,” he said.
Memento is a crime-thriller that follows an insurance investigator suffering from a rare form of memory loss, who goes on a hunt to track down the man who murdered his wife. “It’s funny; people say I should’ve been nominated for Memento. Now I understand why I wasn’t,” Pearce said. “I look at this and go, ‘Oof! Nails on a chalkboard!’ If I reckon my performance in [Australian soap opera] Neighbours is two out of ten, Memento is a five …”
Recalling some wise words from John Gielgud, Pearce continued, “Gielgud once said, ‘You can be good in a good movie, good in a bad movie, bad in a bad movie, but never be bad in a good movie.’ Yet I watched Memento and realised I’m bad in a good movie. F**k!”
Since Memento, Pearce hasn’t worked with Nolan on any projects, essentially because a Warner Bros. executive didn’t like his acting and Nolan was tied to WB Studios up until 2021. In December, Pearce explained the situation in an interview with Vanity Fair. “There was an executive at Warner Bros. who quite openly said to my agent, ‘I don’t get Guy Pearce. I’m never going to get Guy Pearce. I’m never going to employ Guy Pearce,’” he said. “I mean, fair enough…But it meant I could never work with Chris.” However, now that Nolan no longer works with WB, a collaboration between the two seems likely in the future, as Pearce responded, “Now my time has come!”