On July 30, 1970, he was born in London. Edward is his middle name.¹⁾

Brendan James Nolan, his English father, was an advertising executive, while Christina, his American mother, worked as a flight attendant and English teacher.²⁾

He spent his upbringing in both London and Chicago, and he holds dual British and American citizenship.³⁾

At the age of seven, he began making films by stealing his father's Super 8 camera and shooting short films with his action figures.⁴⁾

Growing up, Nolan was a huge fan of Star Wars (1977), and when he was eight years old, he created a stop motion animated imitation called Space Wars.⁵⁾