Cillian Murphy will debut as Robert Oppenheimer on July 21 in cinemas around the world. Three years after the release of Tenet in fact, the new film by the visionary director will arrive this summer Christopher Nolan. Inspired by the novel American Prometheus Of Kai Bird e Martin J. Sherwin, the film will tell the story of the founding father of the atomic bomb, who from 1942 to 1946 was the head of the Manhattan project. Taking on the responsibility of taking on the role of this controversial historical figure will be an actor we have already appreciated in Peaky Blinders. After a long and successful career, the interpreter of the character of Thomas Shelby has landed a high-profile role that, we bet, will win him more than one award.
And according to what she confessed, Cillian Murphy was longing to get the lead role in Oppenheimer.
For the actor of Peaky Blinders this is not the first collaboration with Christopher Nolan. In the past, in fact, he starred in some of the director’s most popular films (the trilogy of Dark Knight, Inception and Dunkirk), always playing the role of secondary characters. The star of Peaky Blinders in an interview withAssociated Press he confessed that he felt the desperate need to finally participate in a Christopher Nolan film to star. In fact, he said:
“I’ve always told Chris publicly and privately that if I’m available and he wants me in a movie, I’ll be there. He doesn’t really care how big the part is. But inside me, secretly, I was desperately trying to get him a lead role.”
And then finally his big break came: Christopher Nolan in 2020 with his English and somewhat awkward ways proposed him to play Robert Oppenheimer in a new film. Cillian Murphyas he said, he jumped at the chance and accepted this responsibility:
“He’s so low key and critical of himself… and his English ways… He said to me, ‘Listen, I’ve written a screenplay, it’s about Oppenheimer. I wish you were my Oppenheimer’. It was a great day… We have this mutual understanding and a lot of trust and respect. It seemed the right time to take on more responsibility“.
The star of Peaky Blinders in fact, he is well aware of the fact that he has taken on a great responsibility, putting himself in the shoes of a very controversial character. However he is very proud of what he and the director have achieved and is curious to find out how people will react to the film:
“You realize that this is a big responsibility. J. Robert Oppenheimer was a complicated, contradictory and so iconic man. But you know you’re with one of the greatest directors of all time. I felt confident taking on this responsibility with Chris. He has had a profound impact on my life, creatively and professionally. (…) The question will be how Chris presents it. I think people will be very surprised and amazed. Anything I say will seem a little boring compared to what they see in an IMAX theater. I’m really proud of the movie and I’m really proud of what Chris has achieved. This was definitely special, definitely because of the history with me and Chris.”
