A Conversation with Jonathan Nolan, Moderated by Kyle MacLachlan

Executive Producer and Director, Fallout

Jonathan Nolan is an Academy Award® and Emmy Award®–nominated writer, director, and producer.  His latest series, Fallout, which Nolan produced and directed, is a global smash hit, one of the highest rated series ever for Amazon Prime, and received 17 Emmy® nominations in its first season.  The series returned for its highly anticipated second season on December 17, 2025, and will be followed by an already announced third season. Kilter Films, Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy’s company, produces the show in partnership with Bethesda Game Studios and Amazon MGM Studios. Additionally, Kilter is developing a live-action television series adaptation of Wolfenstein, one of the most iconic and influential video game franchises of all time, with the games developer, MachineGames, for Amazon. Kilter Films is also partnering with Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society to produce the television series adaptation of Rebecca Yarros’ #1 New York Times bestselling novel Fourth Wing for Amazon. 
 
Nolan’s past work includes Memento, The Prestige, The Dark Knight, Interstellar, and Westworld.  Westworld, which Nolan co-created and directed the pilot for, concluded its run at HBO with 54 Emmy® nominations and remains the highest rated first season show in HBO’s history. Nolan’s first venture into television was the Emmy®-nominated crime series Person of Interest, which ran for five seasons and over a hundred episodes.

Kyle MacLachlan is an actor, podcaster, winemaker, and internet sensation whose career spans over four decades, marked by an array of distinctive roles across television, film, and voice work.

A native of Yakima, Washington, MacLachlan made his screen debut in David Lynch directed projects Dune (1984), Blue Velvet (1986), and Twin Peaks (1990) — where his role as FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper cemented him in the pop culture lexicon and for which he received two Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe Award.

Working with some of cinema’s most celebrated directors, MacLachlan has had the opportunity to bring a wide range of characters to life in The Doors (1991), The Flinstones (1994), Showgirls (1995), Inside Out (2015), Inside Out 2 (2024), and Blink Twice (2024).

Kyle’s television credits include Sex & the City (2002), Desparate Housewives (2004), How I Met Your Mother (2010), Portlandia (2011), returning to the role of Agent Cooper in the revival of Twin Peaks (2017), the highly-acclaimed Amazon Prime Video series Fallout (2024), Overcompensating (2025), and The Lowdown with Ethan Hawke.

Beyond acting, the ever-restless MacLachlan is ambitiously expanding his storytelling prowess by producing his own roster of projects across film, TV, audio, and social media — launching his award-winning Varnamtown podcast with Epic magazine (2024), and several forthcoming and highly-anticipated projects. In 2024, Kyle reinvented himself on social media as a Gen-Z darling via his viral clips that sparked connections with notable names such as Charli XCX, Lorde, and Benito Skinner. His new iHeart podcast exploring the creativity and drive behind Gen Z cultural icons - titled What Are We Even Doing - which launched in September 2025.

When not on screen or in front of a microphone, Kyle combines process, patience, and creativity as the proud proprietor of his own wine label, Pursed By Bear, produced in Washington State and extremely well-regarded by wine aficionados around the world. Of all the roles he has had the privilege to take on, Kyle is most proud to be a husband to his wife, Desiree, a father to their son, Callum, and a dog dad to Bailey and Elvis.