Christopher Nolan has banned Uggs from his sets

Last Updated on February 21, 2024

We’ve heard of directors banning cell phones and even producers from the set, but if you’re working on a Christopher Nolan movie, you better have the right footwear – that means no Uggs!

Appearing on The Late Show (via GQ), host Stephen Colbert asked Nolan – who is currently on the awards circuit trying to land Oppenheimer as many Oscars as possible – about the stories of him banning Uggs from the set. “Ah, the Uggs controversy…I try to minimize distractions…Even though we’re all engaged in this absurd process where this wall is real, but there’s lights and a guy with a microphone, you’re asking the actor to focus in on the reality. So everything you can do—like wearing the correct shoes, or, whatever, not changing your trousers… Anything we can do to keep that reality, that bubble, intact.” Nolan also brought up the so-called “Uggs controversy” on The View, saying it throws off the vibe if people come out wearing everything for their character’s wardrobe except the shoes. We have to assume that Christopher Nolan has a ban on Crocs as well…

Oppenheimer star Emily Blunt previously revealed that the Ugg ban is real, saying, “I’ve never known anyone to detest a pair of Uggs more than Chris Nolan…It’s a testament to how he wants everything on set to look as it would [in the period]. If there’s a plastic bottle in the shot, he’s like, ‘Ugh!’ He hates to even look at it. I would sometimes put on some Uggs and I’d just get this withering look down to my feet—it was like being in The Devil Wears Prada again.” So, sheepskin kicks and Aquafina bottles are out, but yes, you can still sit down.

Stories such as these present some fun behind-the-scenes anecdotes that most of us would never have heard about; they also give us a glimpse into our favorite filmmakers far removed from the surface. We can completely understand why Quentin Tarantino would ban cell phones on a set, but to find out that Christopher Nolan can’t bear the sight of Uggs while he’s making a movie about the Manhattan Project? That’s taking focus to another level.

What do you think of Christopher Nolan’s ban on Uggs? Is it sensible or a little too dictatorial?