Following his titular role in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, Cillian Murphy recently revealed how he had been eyeing leading opportunities in Nolan’s movies for decades. Finally finding the breakthrough role as a leading star in the acclaimed filmmaker’s summer blockbuster, Murphy recalled his initial audition for The Dark Knight trilogy.
Confessing how he initially went for the role of Batman, Cillian Murphy opened up about his audition. Failing to impress Christopher Nolan with his performance for the lead role, Murphy recalled winning the DC villain role of Scarecrow. He even mentioned building a rapport with the director that eventually served him well.
Cillian Murphy Went For The Role Of Batman
After ultimately finding the opportunity to lead Christopher Nolan’s movie, Oppenheimer, Cillian Murphy confessed to fulfilling his more than a decade-long wish. Evidently, Murphy initially went to bag the role of Batman in Nolan’s 2005 Batman Begins movie. Mesmerized by the filmmaker’s approach, the actor wanted to try his shot.
Appearing at the Batman Begins audition for the lead role, Cillian Murphy although failed to impress Nolan, he certainly built an immediate connection with the director. Recently during a conversation with Murphy in a new dual interview in Entertainment Weekly, Christopher Nolan mentioned how he recognized the actor’s creative side.
“I felt like, this is somebody that I want to work with, somebody who has an interesting take on things creatively [… But] when we had our first conversation I think both of us knew that you weren’t going to wind up playing Batman” Nolan shared.
Although Murphy was rejected as a Batman, his rapport with Nolan certainly helped him to bag a recurring role as the villain Scarecrow, in The Dark Knight trilogy.
Cillian Murphy’s Instant Connection With The Director
Cillian Murphy’s instant connection with Christopher Nolan served him well throughout his career. The actor’s creative side was identified by the acclaimed filmmaker and therefore he offered several opportunities to Murphy. “You came out to L.A. for the screen test and we had dinner at a hotel. I felt an immediate connection” Nolan recalled about the Peaky Blinders actor.
Following their friendship, Christopher Nolan often went out of his way to offer roles to Cillian Murphy. Even in his DC movie, Nolan “made sure that executives came down and watched what you [Murphy] were doing on set”. Despite realizing the risky casting choice of Murphy as Jonathan Crane, the director wanted to utilize the actor’s skills.
Falling for Cillian Murphy’s devotion towards his art, Nolan never actually locked up Scarecrow or killed him off throughout the trilogy. Instead, the director went on to find ways for Murphy to crawl back into The Dark Knight trilogy and keep popping up in the sequels. Further, Nolan even ended up fulfilling Murphy’s dream of leading his movies, by offering him the opportunity to play the lead role in Oppenheimer.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
