Christopher Nolan has an epic reaction after meeting reporter who went to school with him at Oscars

"Oppenheimer" was possibly the biggest film of the past year, helmed by a terrific cast and crew and directed by Christopher Nolan, who is no stranger to the Oscar nominations. However, he managed to earn his first-ever Academy Award this year as the Best Director for the biopic on the "Father of Atomic Bomb," J. Robert Oppenheimer, played by Cillian Murphy. The film also took away the Best Picture trophy and Nolan had his hands full when he was meeting the reporters after the ceremony to answer a plethora of questions.

However, he was pleasantly surprised when a familiar face appeared in the crowd of reporters. Nolan might not have been able to recognize the reporter at first but The Daily Mail's Alison Boshoff claimed that she went to school with Nolan, per @Variety's X handle. She congratulated the director for his historic win and added that never talked back in school days. Nolan flashed a smile on stage and responded to her by saying that "it wasn't what he would have expected to talk about at Oscars Night." The reporter said, "Hi Chris, congratulations. It's Alison Boshoff from the Daily Mail here. We went to school together."

Soon after, the reporter reminded him of a certain Mr. Turnbull from school days that seemed to jog Nolan's old memories. The director seemed to slowly pick up on who she is at the mention of Mr. Turnbull whom Nolan referred to as "Trotsky Turnbull" with a mustache, which Boshoff confirmed. Nolan jokingly requested her to not "share any stories from school" right then. Before concluding the brief interaction, Boshoff asked the filmmaker how he was planning to celebrate after his win and Nolan said that he would "hit the Governor's Ball up," meet his children to have "a little celebration with the family."

According to Variety, Nolan has been nominated for the prestigious award several times in his career so far. It started with gaining mainstream recognition for his films like "Memento," "Inception" and "Dunkirk." "To the Academy — movies are just a little bit over 100 years old,” he said during his first acceptance speech of the night. “We don’t know where this incredible journey is going from here. But to know that you think I’m a meaningful part of it means the world to me. Thank you to those who have believed in me my whole career." Despite making several critical and commercial hits, "Oppenheimer" was his first ever big-budget drama which connected equally with the critics and the audience.

“With certain films, your timing is just right in ways that you never could have predicted,” he previously told Variety. “When you start making a film, you’re two or three years out from when it’s going to be released, so you’re trying to hit a moving target as far as the interest of the audience. But sometimes you catch a wave and the story you’re telling is one people are waiting for.” Well, when it comes to getting his due recognition from audiences all over the world, Nolan is still not seemingly accustomed to it.

Robert Downey Jr. told Variety earlier while going to the Sundance Film Festival that Nolan “has become recognizable on the street.” As a result, the director has been getting a "bad case of the blues." According to Downey, the critical and commercial success of “Oppenheimer” means that Nolan can no longer fly under the radar. Casual moviegoers have started to spot the British director, and as a result, “he recoils, as though from a hot flame, from this new and unwelcome reality.”