Oppenheimer has one of the most impressive rosters of actors in recent memory, with Cillian Murphy finally playing the leading man for Christopher Nolan.
Joining Murphy are Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Rami Malek, Benny Safdie, Josh Hartnett, Kenneth Branagh, Jack Quaid, Gary Oldman and more.
Oppenheimer tells the story of the birth of the atomic bomb via The Manhattan Project. It is based on the book 'American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer' which was co-written by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherman.
Murphy has long been a collaborator with Nolan, working with the director on projects like Batman Begins and Inception. This time is different, however, in that he is the leading man, and Murphy's co-star Downey Jr. was full of praise for the Irishman's performance in the new movie.
"He is so beyond exceptional … been on some tough projects ... I have never seen anyone have a bigger lift in the history of my career than Cillian Murphy playing Oppenheimer," he said on the Armchair Expert podcast.
"He is perfectly disposed to have the relationship with Chris Nolan, to have this opportunity come up, and to have the wherewithal, the gift and the intestinal fortitude to survive making it."
Oppenheimer will be released on 21 July 2023.
Murphy and Nolan's relationship
Though Murphy is finally leading a Nolan movie, he says he would take any part, big or small, if it meant working with the director.
“I have always said publicly and privately, to Chris, that if I’m available and you want me to be in a movie, I’m there. I don’t really care about the size of the part. But deep down, secretly, I was desperate to play a lead for him,” Murphy told Yahoo.
“We have this long-standing understanding and trust and shorthand and respect. It felt like the right time to take on a bigger responsibility. And it just so happened that it was a huge one…Any actor would want to be on a Chris Nolan set, just to see how it works and to witness his command of the language of film and the mechanics of film and how he’s able to use that broad canvas within the mainstream studio system to make these very challenging human stories.
"I’m really proud of the movie and I’m really proud of what Chris has achieved. This was, for sure, a special one."
Comments (0)