Christopher Nolan and wife Emma Thomas to receive knighthood and damehood

Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan (Ian West/PA)

British filmmaker Christopher Nolan and his wife and producer Emma Thomas are to receive a knighthood and damehood for their services to film.

Their recognition comes after their biopic Oppenheimer swept the 2024 awards season.

Earlier this month, London-born filmmaker Nolan won his first Oscar for directing the movie about the “father of the atomic bomb”, which starred Irish actor Cillian Murphy in the titular role.

Christopher Nolan and Cillian Murphy (Ian West/PA)

He had previously been nominated for six Academy Awards for examining important questions throughout his body of work but had never won an Oscar for directing until this year’s ceremony.

Nolan and Thomas have collaborated on all of his major feature films including The Dark Knight trilogy, 2010’s Inception, 2014’s Interstellar, 2017’s Dunkirk and 2020’s Tenet.

Born in London to a British father and American mother, Nolan read English at University College London (UCL), choosing the school because of its filmmaking facilities.

It is also where he met his future wife, Thomas, with whom he has four children – Flora, Oliver, Rory and Magnus.

Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas arrive for the UK premiere of Oppenheimer (Ian West/PA)

Together they co-founded and run a production company, Syncopy, which has been behind many of their blockbusters.

When Nolan was presented with the British Film Institute (BFI) Fellowship for being “one of the world’s most innovative and influential film directors”, he credited his wife.

He said he never felt alone making films as Thomas “always saw things the same way I did in terms of the importance of the medium”.

The co-chief executive officer of Netflix, Ted Sarandos, has been made an honorary CBE for his services to creative industries.

The American businessman has been responsible for content operations at the streaming giant since 2000 and was appointed to his top position in July 2020.