After decades of working with acclaimed British-American filmmaker Christopher Nolan, Cillian Murphy finally got her first lead role.
The Top notch blind star who plays J Robert Oppenheimer – often portrayed as the father of the atomic bomb – in Nolan’s next blockbuster, Oppenheimer.
Murphy has a long relationship with the director, having starred in three of his Batman films, Start And Dunkirkbefore this latest project.
In a recent interview with Related pressMurphy admitted that after countless supporting roles, he was “desperate” to star in a Nolan film.
“I’ve always said publicly and privately to Chris that if I’m free and you want me to be in a movie, I’ll be there. I don’t really care about the size of the part,” Murphy said. “But deep down, secretly, I longed to play the lead for him.”
The Irish actor revealed that he knew he had been cast for the role after Nolan unexpectedly called him one day.
“He was very humble and self-deprecating and, in his very British style, just said, ‘Listen, I wrote this script, it’s about Oppenheimer. I want you to be my Oppenheimer,’” Murphy recalls.
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“It was a great day… We have longstanding understanding and trust, shorthand and respect. It feels like the right time to take on a bigger responsibility. And it just so happens that it’s a big deal.
For the movie, Nolan, who is known for staying away from CGI to perform realistic stunts, recreated a nuclear weapon explosion in New Mexico without using any special effects. .
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While showing new footage of the film at CinemaCon in Las Vegas last week, Nolan told the crowd: “Like it or not, J Robert Oppenheimer is the most important person who has ever lived. He created the world we live in, for better or for worse.”
The director continued: “I don’t know of a more dramatic story with higher stakes, twists and turns, and moral dilemmas. … The best minds in the country are in a desperate race against the Nazis to harness the power of the atom during World War II.”
OppenheimerThe film’s cast also includes Emily Blunt, Robery Downey Jr and Florence Pugh, as well as Matthew Modine, Rami Malek, Kenneth Branagh, Dane DeHaan, Benny Safdie, David Krumholtz, Jack Quaid and Alden Ehrenreich.
It will be released in cinemas on July 21 – the same day as Greta Gerwig Barbie dollstarring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.
