While his role is small, Haas recalls having to get physical with DiCaprio's character when Nash is forced to wake him up from a deep sleep. A big no-no in the world of Inception .

Writer-director Nolan, who turns 40 two weeks after “Inception” premieres, said he dreamed up the idea about a decade ago, as his independent hit “Memento” was opening studio doors for him.

Part 1 of my oral history on Inception covered the musical aspect of the mind-bending movie. In Part 2, Mr. Kurland details how he navigated the various levels of Nolan’s screenplay to dress ...