Nicholas Hoult continues to rise in skill and star power, making him an exciting actor to watch. He got his start way back with About a Boy and Skins before taking on a diverse range of roles in the early 2010s. His filmography continues to get more interesting; just last year, he had major roles in both the Clint Eastwood courtroom drama Juror #2 and Robert Eggers’s vampire opus Nosferatu. Hoult’s cinematic tastes are similarly eclectic, ranging from animation and horror to introspective dramas and kung fu classics. In interviews and during his recent visit to the Criterion closet, he’s named some of his favorites. This list will discuss some of his most intriguing recommendations. Odds are, Hoult’s fans will enjoy a few of them just as much as he does.
“He remembers those vanished years.” In the Mood for Love is a melancholy masterpiece about unspoken emotions, longing glances, and a love not acted upon. It focuses on Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung) and Su Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung), two neighbors in 1960s Hong Kong who discover that their respective spouses are having an affair. Their story is told through gorgeous cinematography, bathing the film in rich, saturated colors that heighten its dreamlike quality. The meticulous recreation of that time and place is impressive and immersive. The result is one of the most visually striking and quietly affecting movies of the 2000s. It’s director Wong Kar-wai’s masterpiece, going on to influence filmmakers like Sofia Coppola and Barry Jenkins. “Probably one of the most beautiful movies ever,” Hoult said of it. “This movie I watched because Tom Ford recommended it to me because he got a lot of inspiration from this for the soundtrack of A Single Man.”
“Chinese are not sick men!” On the other end of the cinematic spectrum is Fist of Fury, one of the most iconic martial arts films of all time. Bruce Lee is the star of the attraction as Chen Zhen, a martial artist who returns to his school in Shanghai only to find his master dead under suspicious circumstances. He soon sets out to take revenge on the Japanese occupying forces. The story is a little flimsy at times, but the movie makes up for it in energy and action. It’s a powerful showcase of Lee’s physical prowess and magnetic screen presence. The fight sequences, particularly the dojo scene where Lee single-handedly dismantles a room full of opponents, remain legendary. “This is going back to my childhood,” Hoult said. “I would sneak into [my older brother’s] room and watch his VHSes, and he had a lot of the Bruce Lee movies, Enter the Dragon, Fist of Fury.”
“I understand what you’re saying, and your comments are valuable, but I’m gonna ignore your advice.” This delightful stop-motion movie represents the creative fusion of quirky legends Wes Anderson and Roald Dahl. George Clooney voices the vulpine protagonist, a charismatic thief who returns to his old ways despite promising his wife (Meryl Streep) that he would go straight. Fantastic Mr. Fox charms with its whimsical visual design, fastidious attention to detail, and dry, deadpan humor. It’s impressive that the director was able to take such a beloved story and make it so thoroughly his own. It also has great crossover appeal: while aimed primarily at kids, Fantastic Mr. Fox never dumbs itself down or simplifies its themes. “I just think it’s so well done. Wes Anderson killed it with this,” Hoult said. “My kids haven’t gotten into this yet, but I keep putting it on because I know one day they will, and I’m going to enjoy watching it with them when they do.”
“What’s the most you ever lost on a coin toss?” Perhaps the crown jewel in the Coen brothers’ filmography, No Country for Old Men fuses neo-Western elements with a chilling meditation on fate, violence, and moral decay. It features Tommy Lee Jones as a disillusioned lawman, Josh Brolin as a hunter who stumbles upon a drug deal gone wrong, and an Oscar-winning Javier Bardem as the cold-blooded assassin Anton Chigurh. All of them are on their A-game. This philosophical thriller defies expectations at every turn, including in its bleak, inventive ending. It conjures up an American landscape where truth and justice have lost their sheen. “I got to watch this movie whilst reading the script and looking at the storyboards, which, as a little film geek, was exciting because I got to see exactly what the Coen brothers were imagining and how it all came together,” Hoult explains.
“Life is a state of mind.” Peter Sellers delivers one of his best performances here as Chance, a simple-minded gardener who is unexpectedly thrust into high society, where his vague yet polite observations are mistaken for profound wisdom. Soon, he becomes a highly influential figure despite having no real understanding of the world around him. Being There is a masterful satire of media, politics, and the power of perception. Its critique is spot-on and ever-relevant; there are more than a few figures in power today who have a lot in common with Chance. But, most impressively, the film manages to be tender as well as biting. “The thing about this movie that I absolutely love is the outtakes,” Hoult said. “Him corpsing and not being able to stop giggling […] That, for me as an actor, I was like, ‘Oh, look, Peter Sellers is one of the best and look at him, he’s giggling and losing it.'”
“I have a reasonable doubt.” One of the most compelling courtroom dramas ever made, 12 Angry Men takes place almost entirely in a single jury room, where twelve men debate the guilt or innocence of a young defendant accused of murder. While eleven jurors are quick to convict, one man (Henry Fonda) challenges their assumptions, forcing them to confront their biases and reexamine the evidence. 12 Angry Men was a towering feature debut for director Sidney Lumet, casting a shadow that still looms over the entire legal genre to this day. It transcends its era, and the themes resonate almost universally. Exceptional writing and powerhouse performances are the order of the day, gripping the audience from the first frame and never letting go. “Sidney Lumet is one of the all-time great directors,” Hoult said. “And this movie, going into shoot Juror #2, was a movie I watched quite a few times because I was inspired by it. Love it.”
“Listen to them, the children of the night. What music they make!” Tod Browning’s Dracula is one of Hoult’s three favorite vampire films. Starring Bela Lugosi in his career-defining role as the bloodsucking Count, the film follows the infamous Transylvanian as he arrives in England and begins to spread his influence, hypnotizing victims and feasting on their blood. The movie quickly became famous thanks to its gothic atmosphere, eerie silence, and Lugosi’s hypnotic performance. While limited by the technology of the day, it’s still impressive. There are so many creepy and indelible visuals here: imposing castle, cobwebbed halls, rubbery bats. Fundamentally, Dracula succeeds thanks to the suavely unsettling Lugosi, whose performance was deeply influential. Indeed, Lugosi’s take on the Count remains acclaimed, influencing everyone from Hoult to Gary Oldman.
“I’m twelve. But I’ve been twelve for a long time.” Hoult is also a big fan of the Swedish vampire film Let the Right One In, and understandably so. It’s an emotional and melancholy take on the vampire mythos revolving around Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant), a lonely and bullied boy, and Eli (Lina Leandersson), a strange girl who harbors a dark secret—she is a vampire. They form a deep connection, but a tragic end seems inevitable. Unlike most in this bloody subgenre, Let the Right One In prioritizes atmosphere and character depth over traditional horror elements. In many ways, it’s more of a drama or coming-of-age story. That said, it’s still deeply unsettling, more so than most 21st-century vampire flicks, which have grown toothless due to oversaturation and parody. The craftsmanship is also exquisite. The movie carefully deploys measured pacing, muted cinematography, and haunting stillness to great effect.
“I am bad.” Like Let the Right One In, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night also looks at vampire tropes from a fresh angle. In this case, it relocates the action to a city in Iran and adds elements borrowed from classic noir and spaghetti Western. The story revolves around The Girl (Sheila Vand), a lonely, silent vampire who stalks the streets of a depressed town. Cloaked in a chador, she preys on corrupt men while forming a hesitant connection with Arash (Arash Marandi), a young man weighed down by struggle. This is like a darker, vampiric take on Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, boasting stunning black-and-white imagery and an atmospheric soundtrack. It’s Nosferatu by way of Ms. 45 and Sin City, with a hearty sprinkling of Sergio Leone. At its core, though, the film may be more about the country in which it takes place than it is about vampires.
“If you can’t trust your friends, what then?” Before Trainspotting catapulted him to international fame, Danny Boyle made his directorial debut with Shallow Grave, a wickedly dark thriller about greed and paranoia. It follows three Edinburgh flatmates—Alex (Ewan McGregor), David (Christopher Eccleston), and Juliet (Kerry Fox)—who find their new roommate dead in his room with a suitcase full of cash. Rather than report it, they decide to keep the money and dispose of the body. Naturally, things don’t go according to plan. Shallow Grave is an offbeat movie, to be sure. Not everyone will enjoy its claustrophobic vibe, repulsive characters, and vicious violence. However, it’s also precisely these elements that have earned Shallow Grave a cult following. “It’s one of the scariest films I feel I’ve ever seen,” Hoult said of it. “There’s a scene in this where someone power-drills into someone’s forehead, and it’s seared into my memory.”
