This gets to a broader concern: while hes not the first person to employ a small repertory company of cast and crew repeatedly, Christopher Nolan certainly doesnt let a lot of other kids play in his toybox. Behind the scenes, this has led to the aforementioned Jonathan Nolan, and his wife Emma Thomas as producer. In the movies themselves, this creates predictable closed circuits of casting: Michael Caines twinkling mentor, Joseph Gordon-Levitts cynical-beyond-his-years sidekick, Marion Cotillards femme fatale, and er, well, Tom Hardys a bit of a wild card (but, for obvious reasons, not a Joker). The fact that these archetypes recur so frequently may point to a wider schematic approach to characterization throughout Nolans films (should we be generous and call it Dickensian? Vote now!). All I know is Id rather see Gary Oldman as a Bond villain than Ellen Page (still looking all of twelve years old) as a Bond girl.