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Guy Pearce on his 'bad' performance in Christopher Nolan's 'Memento'

Compares his work to 'nails on a chalkboard'

Published: Tue 4 Feb 2025, 1:03 PM

Updated: Tue 4 Feb 2025, 1:04 PM

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  • ANI

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Actor Guy Pearce. Photo: Reuters

Actor Guy Pearce. Photo: Reuters

The Oscar nominee Guy Pearce admitted that he didn't like his performance in Christopher Nolan's Memento, which was released in 2000. He played the role of memory-addled Leonard Shelby in the movie.

Pearce has been nominated in the category of Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Adrien Brody's The Brutalist at the upcoming Academy Awards.

The Oscar nominee compared his performance in Nolan's Memento to 'nails on a chalkboard' and said that he hated his work in the movie.

"I'm having an existential crisis. I watched Memento the other day and I'm still depressed. I'm bad 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 realised I hate what I did," said Pearce.

While explaining his role, Pearce added, "I was trying to do a flippant attitude, but it was all wrong. John 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 realized I'm bad in a good movie."

There was a significant buzz among fans who questioned Pearce's absence from the Academy Awards nominations after the release of Memento.

Two decades later, the actor feels that it was the right decision of the jury to not select him. "It's funny; people say I should've been nominated for Memento. Now I understand why I wasn't," he said.

Written and directed by Nolan, Memento stars Pearce as Leonard, a man struggling with short-term memory loss while trying to track down the man who raped and murdered his wife. The film also starred Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano.

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