Christopher Nolan reveals 'absurd' reason why he banned Uggs from The Odyssey set

Christopher Nolan has a strict rule for anyone stepping onto one of his film sets, and it has nothing to do with acting.

The director, known for his tailored suits as much as his sprawling blockbusters, has banned Ugg boots from his productions, and he's explained exactly why in a new interview.

Speaking to CBS Mornings, the director behind The Odyssey confirmed the footwear ban applies across his sets, after being asked about an incident involving Anne Hathaway during filming of the Greek epic.

Nolan explained that actors sometimes turn up in comfortable footwear because their costume shoes hurt, joking that he's had this same conversation with stars like Emily Blunt and Hathaway before.

"Sometimes actors will turn up because the footwear hurts them, so they'll turn up in these big, fluffy, comfy slippers. I have a couple, yes," he said, adding that "something like that can actually weirdly take you out of reality."

Why has Christopher Nolan banned Uggs from set?

According to Nolan, the issue isn't really about the boots themselves, it's about protecting the illusion of the world he's trying to build on screen.

He explained that even small, everyday distractions on set, like crew members snacking just out of shot, can break the spell for actors trying to stay in character.

Christopher Nolan has a "no UGGs on set" policy for a very simple reason: The “signifier of modernity” could take actors out of the reality the crew is trying to create for the film. pic.twitter.com/VsrMH9cFIS

— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) July 21, 2026

"If someone's eating a bag of chips off camera or something, there's certain things that just remind you that you're in the real world as opposed to the world we're trying to create for the actors," he said.

"I want to stay in the moment. We want the actors to stay in the moment. And so for me, the Ugg boots are a signifier of modernity. Absurd though that is."

The rule isn't new to The Odyssey. Nolan apparently enforced the same ban while filming Oppenheimer, with Emily Blunt previously telling USA Today she got 'this withering look down to my feet' whenever she wore hers between takes, comparing it to being scolded in The Devil Wears Prada.

"I'd just get this withering look down to my feet, it was like being in The Devil Wears Prada again," Blunt said, joking that she'd remind Nolan she was "just sitting on an apple box in the background."

Hathaway had a similar run-in on The Odyssey set, telling USA Today, "I did show up one day with Uggs, and he looked down and went 'Nope.' I just went 'No problem!' And they never came back."

Despite the seriousness with which the rule is apparently enforced, Nolan suggested during the CBS interview that the whole thing is at least semi tongue-in-cheek, acknowledging himself that banning a specific brand of boot for the sake of 'immersion' is a little ridiculous.