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Andy Serkis had the opportunity to act alongside the legendary David Bowie in one of his rare film appearances in Christopher Nolan’sThe Prestige. Bowie played a fictionalized version of the real-life inventor Nikola Tesla and Serkis played his assistant, Mr. Alley. Serkis revealed that theSpace Odditysinger had a little bit of imposter syndrome playing the character, but still gave his best shot at it.
Interestingly, Bowie initially turned down the role of Tesla before Nolan turned up on his doorstep and convinced him to take the role. Nolan reunited withBatman Beginsstar Christian Bale for this psychological thriller film, which also featured Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson, and Michael Caine.
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Andy Serkis Reveals David Bowie’s Imposter Syndrome While Working OnThe Prestige
Andy Serkisattended the Global Premiere ofDavid Bowie‘sZiggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars: The Motion Picturein London in July 2023. Serkis got to work closely with the late musician inChristopher Nolan‘sThe Prestige. Reflecting on their collaboration, Serkis revealed that Bowie was concerned about taking on the role. Despite his fears about acting, theAshes to Ashessinger enjoyed the company of other artists in the film.
Serkis went on to share that Bowie faced imposter syndrome as an actor. While he was a legend in the music field, Bowie struggled to determine whether acting was truly“his thing”. Nevertheless, theKing Kongactor revealed that Bowie gave the role“a damn good shot”. Serkis also recounted an instance when Bowie voiced his doubts about portraying the role to him. He felt that his portrayal of Tesla felt more like Inspector Clouseau. TheAndoractor shared at the premiere (via virginradio.co.uk):
“He was obviously very concerned with the craft of acting, but actually, more than that, he wanted to have a good time. He really was someone who enjoyed other people’s company, enjoyed other artists’ company.”
Andy Serkis continued:
“As an actor, he always felt like he was slightly an imposter, which was quite interesting that he was kind of like, was this really his thing? But he’ll give it a damn good shot, you know? So he laughed at himself a lot. When we were doing The Prestige, he said, ‘I think my Nikola Tesla, who was from Belgrade, sounds a little bit like Inspector Clouseau!'”
TheLord of the Ringsactor also added that he was a huge fan of Bowie’s music. Moreover, he expressed admiration for the“variety of [artistic] choices”made by theStarmansinger throughout his career. Serkis shared,“He was so normal… he was very modest, incredibly modest.”It appears that Andy Serkis’s comments about Bowie haven’t changed over the years, as he shared a similar account toIndieLondonat the time of the film’s release. Serkis shared:
“He’s very unassuming, very down to earth – he doesn’t laud his status as rock legend at all. He’s actually very at ease with himself and funny. We had a lot of laughs.”
David Bowie passed away on July 02, 2025, due to liver cancer. His other notable film roles included Jareth the Goblin King inLabyrinth, Andy Warhol inBasquiat, and Phillip Jeffries inTwin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.
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Christopher Nolan Had To Convince David Bowie To Take OnThe PrestigeRole
In an old interview withIGN, Christopher Nolan revealed that David Bowie was the only guy he had in mind for the role of Nikola Tesla. Nolan explained that the small yet crucial role needed an“extraordinarily charismatic and noticeable presence”on screen. Nolan specifically wanted a non-movie star to play this character and concluded that Bowie was the perfect choice for the role.
However, Bowie was initially not interested in taking on the role. The determined Nolan flew out to New York to convince Bowie, saying,“I don’t have anyone else in mind who can do it the way I can see it in the film.”Lucky for Nolan, Bowie accepted his invitation for the role. Nolan later shared withThe Irish Timesthat he was a“huge Bowie fan all [his] life”and that it was an“amazing pleasure”to meet and work with him.
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The Prestigegrossed $109 million at the box office against a budget of $40 million. The film is now available for streaming on Paramount+.
Hashim Asraff
Senior Writer
Articles Published :3019
Hashim Asraff is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, with over 2,800 articles published on celebrity culture, comic book movies, and major TV franchises. With a background in Sociology and a keen interest in pop culture, Hashim brings a unique lens to breaking news stories, character deep-dives, film rankings, and fan-driven perspectives.His coverage often includes the MCU, DCU, hit network shows, and celebrity profiles, giving readers a rich blend of entertainment and analysis. A longtime fan of crime and investigative series, Hashim has watched thousands of episodes of NCIS, Criminal Minds, Law & Order: SVU, Bones, Blue Bloods, and The RookieA passionate storyteller and wordsmith, Hashim has also worked as a ghostwriter and managed multiple social media handles. He brought his writing expertise to FandomWire to also pursue his lifelong love for cinema and television.
