Cillian Murphy teases Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’: ‘I think people will be very surprised’
“Barbie” isn’t the only big movie coming out on July 21. Set to arrive in theaters that same day is Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” the “Tenet” director’s biographical drama about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb.
Anticipation is high for the Universal release – with many awards pundits already expecting the Nolan feature to factor heavily into the 2024 Oscars race. Speaking to the Associated Press, “Oppenheimer” star Cillian Murphy did little to disabuse that notion. “I think people will be very surprised and wowed by what he does,” Murphy said of Nolan’s work on the film. “Anything I say will just seem a bit lame as compared to seeing this in an IMAX theater.”
Based on the Oppenheimer biography “American Prometheus” with an adaptation written by Nolan himself, “Oppenheimer” features Murphy in the title role and surrounds the actor with an all-star list of names, including Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, Emily Blunt, and many more. This is the sixth time Murphy has starred in a Nolan project, following three Batman films, “Inception,” and “Dunkirk.” But “Oppenheimer” is the first time Murphy has played a lead role for the filmmaker, a responsibility he was more than willing to bear.
“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,” Murphy said to the AP about his work with Nolan. “But deep down, secretly, I was desperate to play a lead for him.”
Footage from “Oppenheimer” has already wowed audiences – an IMAX trailer that has played before various 2023 features is of particular excellence. “I know of no more dramatic tale, with higher stakes, twists and turns, paradoxes,” Nolan said at CinemaCon last year in Las Vegas. “In learning about that story, I wanted to be in that room and see what that must have been like.”
“Oppenheimer” is out July 21.
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