Plenty of cinephiles think fondly of Guy Pearce‘s turn as the amnesiac Leonard Shelby in “Memento,” but Pearce isn’t one of them.
The 57-year-old actor, who most recently picked up an Academy Award nomination for his supporting turn in Brady Corbet’s historical epic “The Brutalist,” spoke candidly about his performance in Christopher Nolan‘s 2000 thriller “Memento” in an interview with The Times.
“I’m having an existential crisis,” Pearce admitted. “I watched ‘Memento’ the other day and I’m still depressed. I’m shit in that movie. I’d never thought that before, but I did this Q&A of ‘Memento’ earlier this month and decided to actually watch the film again.”
“But while it was playing I realized I hate what I did,” he added. “And so all this stuff about an exec at Warners being why I’ve not worked with Chris again? It came crashing down. I know why I didn’t work with Chris again — it’s because I’m no good in ‘Memento.’”
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But even if Pearce wishes he could forget “Memento,” fans and critics don’t. In 2000, Pearce was nominated for best actor by the Chicago Film Critics Association, the Boston Society of Film Critics and at the Saturn awards, in addition to winning in the category at the San Diego Film Critics Society Awards.
Beyond “Memento,” Pearce’s decades-long career in film and TV has delivered roles in titles like “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert,” “L.A. Confidential,” “Mare of Easttown,” “Prometheus,” “The King’s Speech” and “The Hurt Locker.”
In addition to the Academy Award nomination, Pearce picked up BAFTA, Critics Choice, Chicago Film Critics Association and Golden Globe nominations for his work in “The Brutalist.”