The much-awaited Oppenheimer will be Cillian Murphy’s first-ever Christopher Nolan tentpole wherein he takes over as the ringleader rather than being on the sidelines. And as if that in itself isn’t a massive enough feat, he’s portraying one of the most imperative entities in history. So, it’s naturally important for Murphy to nail the part, which he evidently has, if Nolan and his fellow cast members’ word is anything to go by.
As much as his co-stars revered and admired him though, for his remarkable performance and endless talent, they couldn’t help but feel the pang of misery that resulted from Murphy’s immersion into character, especially Robert Downey Jr., who couldn’t stand the former’s cold and reticent husk of his role. But then again, stepping into the shoes of the man who created the atomic bomb isn’t the most sunshine-esque either.
Oppenheimer – Robert Downey Jr. Felt Iced Out by Cillian Murphy
J. Robert Oppenheimer was as complex an individual as he was brilliant; a gifted theoretical physicist but one who was more often than not, socially inept, Oppenheimer had numerous intricate layers to his personality. So it’s obvious that the Peaky Blinders star, who depicts the father of the atomic bomb in the forthcoming biopic, would have to sculpt himself likewise.
Sometimes, however, Cillian Murphy‘s prowess would pose a conundrum to others, especially to Robert Downey Jr. who represents Lewis Strauss in the film (Oppenheimer’s longtime foe), because contrary to the dark and solemn aura that he often exudes on the screen, Murphy is full of warmth and amity (don’t be fooled by his Thomas Shelby persona). But the moment the cameras would start rolling, the Inception star would transform into this somber scientist who appeared nothing but detached from the people around him, and that definitely bothered the MCU veteran quite a bit.
“You can’t help but feel a little iced out by it – now, Cillian is so warm and nice and inviting, but then we’d roll, and I’d feel like he was looking through me like I didn’t exist, and I was like, ‘That s*cks.’ And I can only imagine, there was a lot of people, who felt that way.”
It wasn’t just Downey Jr. who was affected by the coldness of Murphy’s embodiment of the character though, the Irish actor himself felt the grip of the role, one which he’s admitted sometimes became too vehement to handle.
Stepping Into the Shoes of the Historical Icon
Given the magnitude of the role and the importance attached to it, it was an intense experience for Murphy to breathe life into that character, to say the least. In a recent interview with People magazine, his co-stars disclosed how the 47-year-old would refuse to even have dinner with them because “his brain was just too full” for him to truly relax in the company of others.
“The sheer volume of what he had to take on and shoulder is so monumental.”
Murphy himself admitted that the responsibility of embodying such a historical figure on the silver screen would at times become “overwhelming” for him. One can only imagine.
Oppenheimer is set to premiere on July 21, 2023.
Source: Extra Tv
