Which actor played Leonard Shelby in Christopher Nolan’s Memento?

Guy Pearce played Leonard Shelby in Christopher Nolan’s Memento.

Leonard is a former insurance investigator searching for the person responsible for an attack that killed his wife. Because the attack left him unable to form new long-term memories, he relies on photographs, handwritten notes, and tattoos to organize his investigation.

Memento was released in 2000 and was based on Christopher Nolan’s short story treatment, while its screenplay was written by Nolan. The film also stars Carrie-Anne Moss as Natalie and Joe Pantoliano as Teddy, two characters whose motives Leonard struggles to assess.

Pearce’s performance has to communicate Leonard’s shifting confidence and confusion while the audience receives information in an unusual order. The film’s reverse-structured narrative and black-and-white sections made it one of Nolan’s defining early works. It earned Academy Award nominations for Original Screenplay and Film Editing.