When I think of Christopher Nolan, there are several films that stand out which make me think of what an amazing director and filmmaker he is. We have classics like The Dark Knight trilogy, the space-thriller Interstellar, and so many others. But, the one film that stands out to me the most is the 2010 classic, Inception.
If you don’t remember the movie, Inception follows the story of a professional thief who steals information by infiltrating the subconscious of all of his targets, and is offered a chance at having his criminal history erased after utilizing that same technology to plant an idea in someone's mind. I know, just reading that, it already feels like your brain is in a blender – but the movie itself was fantastic, and the Inception cast has been up to plenty since then. From Leonardo DiCaprio to Michael Caine, this what the Inception cast has been up to since the film’s iconic release.
Leonardo DiCaprio (Dom Cobb)
Out of everyone on this list, you most likely know the most about Leonardo DiCaprio. He’s been in some amazing movies since the very beginning of his career, and that hasn’t stopped since his appearance as Dom Cobb in Inception. DiCaprio has appeared in several award-winning films, such as Django Unchained, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Revenant, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, and the latest Quentin Tarantino film, Once Upon a Time In Hollywood.
Leonardo DiCaprio has also been very active in environmental awareness, even producing Ice on Fire, a film about global warming. DiCaprio has a new political satire disaster film, titled Don’t Look Up, which is the story of two low-level astronomers who are trying to warn mankind about an asteroid that will destroy Earth. He’s going to be starring alongside other big stars such as Jennifer Lawrence, Cate Blanchett, and several others, so it’s sure to be just as intriguing as some of his most recent ventures.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Arthur)
Moving onto one of the other main stars of Inception, Joseph Gordon-Levitt has had plenty of work since the film’s release. He’s starred in Looper, the superhero film The Dark Knight Rises, and done some voice over work in The Wind Rises by Studio Ghibli and the mystery thriller, Knives Out. In 2020, Joseph Gordon-Levitt also had a part in the popular Netflix film, Trial of the Chicago 7.
Moving on in his career, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is going to be stepping into the Disney world with more voice work, as he is going to be portraying Jiminy Cricket in the upcoming live-action remake of the classic Disney film, Pinocchio. This film, which will also have Tom Hanks as one of his co-stars, doesn’t have a set release date yet, but will debut on Disney+, so be prepared to hear some of Gordon-Levitt’s awesome acting skills on this take on the fantasy tale.
Elliot Page (Ariadne)
Elliot Page has had plenty of changes in his work-life – including some awesome film and TV roles. He’s had a pretty important role in the Fox version of X-Men as Kitty Pryde, starred in the Flatliners remake and the 2019 Tales of the City series, and since 2018, has had a main role in the popular Netflix show The Umbrella Academy.
In the next couple of years, he’ll have voice roles in two animated films, titled Naya Legend of the Golden Dolphin and Robodog, as well as continuing his role on The Umbrella Academy in its upcoming third season.
Tom Hardy (Eames)
Another big star who has had a super successful career post-Inception, Tom Hardy has been all over the map of genres in film. Like Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy also had a role in The Dark Knight Rises, portraying Bane, the main villain. For another action film, Tom Hardy had a starring role in Mad Max: Fury Road, which was nominated for several Academy Awards, as well as a role in the Christopher Nolan film, Dunkirk.
One of Hardy’s most recent ventures has been taking on the leading role in the Venom franchise, which has the sequel, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, coming out in 2021. Along with several other films that he has coming up, the next couple of years are going to be filled with interesting films for the popular actor.
Ken Watanabe (Mr. Saito)
Moving onto a character that may not have been as featured, but was still just as important, Ken Watanabe portrayed Mr. Saito expertly and has been plenty busy since the film’s release. Recently, Watanabe has had a voice role in the Wes Anderson film, Isle of Dogs, as well as some live-action roles in Godzilla and several of the Transformers movies. He also had a part in the Pokemon live-action film, Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, where everyone’s favorite video game critters came to life.
Coming up in the next couple of years, Ken Watanabe is going to have a voice role in an upcoming film titled Kensuke’s Kingdom, as the role of Kensuke himself. He will also have a main role in a TV series titled Tokyo Vice, a crime drama that is based on the book of the same name.
Dileep Rao (Yusef)
Dileep Rao, while his role was small in Inception, has kept moderately busy since the film’s release. Besides Inception, he’s had a couple of film roles, one being in the iconic horror film, Drag Me to Hell. However, one of his main ventures since working on Inception has been taking on the role of Dr. Max Patel in the hit James Cameron film, Avatar.
While Rao has had a few guest appearances on TV shows and worked on other films, his main project – or rather projects – that he has coming up are the Avatar sequels, in which he will be portraying the same character. So, when those weird blue aliens finally decide to show up to theaters after more than a decade of being away, be sure to keep an eye out for him.
Cillian Murphy (Robert Michael Fischer)
For someone whose role wasn’t super big in Inception, Cillian Murphy has grown immensely in his acting career. Murphy has had plenty of film work in the intervening years, and in several other genres. If you’re trying to check out a war film, look to Dunkirk, where he shared the screen with Tom Hardy once again. If you’re into horror movies, Murphy will be appearing in A Quiet Place: Part II when it premiers in May of 2021.
Cillian Murphy will also have a role in the upcoming film Kensuke’s Kingdom alongside Ken Watanabe, so try to listen in closely to see if you can recognize his voice among that cast. However, arguably the biggest parts that Cillian Murphy has had since his role in Inception was his main role on the TV hit Peaky Blinders, a British period crime drama, for which he was the star. Truly, he is someone who has definitely spread his wings in terms of different genres.
Tom Berenger (Peter Browning)
Ever since Inception, most of the cast has kept relatively busy and picked up many films, but in the case of Tom Berenger, he’s kept his career on the down-low and relaxed a bit. That’s not to say he hasn’t still been busy, however – he has simply stuck to smaller films since his time on the mind-bending blockbuster.
Tom Berenger had a main role in the direct-to-video franchise Sniper, as well as multiple other direct-to-video films as well. He’s also had some guest appearances on multiple TV shows, such as Hawaii Five-O and Training Day, the TV series which was based on the award-winning movie.
Marion Cotillard (Mal Cobb)
While her role was really small in this film, even though Dom was very much connected to Mal emotionally, Marion Cotillard, who was more known for her French roles, broke out into mainstream movie success after her English-language role in Inception. Like others on this list, Cotillard had a role in The Dark Knight Rises, as well as parts in several other big-time hits such as the Academy-Award nominated Midnight in Paris, Contagion, and Anchorman 2.
In terms of what she has coming up, Cotillard is going to have a feature role in an upcoming film titled Annette, a musical which will tell the story of a stand-up comedian (played by Adam Driver) and his world-famous soprano wife, whom Cotillard will portray, and how their daughter, named Annette, will change their lives forever. It’s most certainly an interesting premise, and I’m excited to see what she could bring to this new film, for whenever it is released in the future.
Michael Caine (Professor Stephen Miles)
If you wanted to look up a picture of a living movie legend, I’m pretty positive a photo of Michael Caine would be one of the first images you see. Not only did this man have an amazing career prior to his role in Inception as Professor Stephen Miles, but he’s also had several other big roles after the film’s release as well. For the fourth time mentioned on this list, Caine had a role in the action film, The Dark Knight Rises (I’m beginning to see a trend with Christopher Nolan here), a part in Interstellar, and the 2020 release Tenet.
In terms of other films besides the work of Christopher Nolan, Michael Caine has made appearances in action films such as Journey 2: The Mysterious Island and Kingsman: The Secret Service. And, Michael Caine has a few films planned to come out within the next couple of years, as well.
Twist, which will be a modern adaption of Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist, Best Sellers, a story about an old author trying to save a publishing company, and Medieval, a fantasy film about a mercenary group that does dirty work for nobles. He is surely going to be a very busy man, and I can’t contain my excitement for some of the awesome projects he has lined up.
Which new film are you looking forward to the most? Let’s just all hope that none of the endings of these new movies are as crazy as the Inception ending – I think we would all have a headache after viewing the Christopher Nolan classic again.
You can watch Inception on Amazon here.
