In the world of Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan's latest drama delving into the life of the American physicist behind the atomic bomb, Cillian Murphy's captivating blue eyes emerged as an unexpected challenge for his co-stars.
Matt Damon, portraying Manhattan Project director Leslie Groves, candidly admitted, "It's a real problem when you're doing scene work with Cillian. Sometimes you find yourself just swimming in his eyes."
Emily Blunt, who takes on the role of Oppenheimer's wife, Kitty, chimed in with a playful note, "It's like that 'Ocean Eyes' song by Billie Eilish. We just hum it all day."
Murphy, however, defended his distinctive feature, stating, "They're not even that blue!"
This collaboration marks Murphy's sixth film with Nolan and a significant one as he steps into the lead role. Nolan, reminiscing about their cinematic history, shared that it was Murphy's "crazy eyes" that initially caught his attention during the Dark Knight trilogy.
"I remember I was up in San Francisco writing Batman Begins, and there was something in the San Francisco Chronicle about 28 Days Later," Nolan recalled. "I saw a picture of you with your shaved head and your crazy eyes — no offense. I remember being struck by your presence, literally from that one photograph, and then started to look into who you were."
While the Batman role went to Christian Bale, Nolan was determined to have Murphy on board, casting him as the memorable Scarecrow. "Everybody was so excited by watching you perform that when I then said, 'Okay, Christian Bale is Batman, but what about Cillian to play Scarecrow?' there was no dissent," Nolan explained.
Fast forward to the present, and Murphy, receiving a surprise call from Nolan, was asked to embody J. Robert Oppenheimer. "It was kind of overwhelming," Murphy admitted, reflecting on Nolan's spontaneous approach. "Chris' way of operating is that he just calls you out of the blue. I genuinely had no idea. He said he was making a movie about Oppenheimer, and he said, 'I'd like you to play Oppenheimer.' I had to sit down."
