Cillian Murphy felt immense “pressure” playing Oppenheimer

Some actors get so immersed in their roles that they avoid their co-stars in an attempt to distance themselves from anything that could detract from their art. But the reason Cillian Murphy ditched nightly dinners with his Oppenheimer co-stars had to do with the mounting pressure he felt playing the father of the atomic bomb.

In a sitdown with People, co-star Emily Blunt (who plays J. Robert Oppenheimer’s wife, Katherine) remembered that the isolation of their filming locations encouraged some to gather for some grub. “We were all in the same hotel in the middle of the New Mexican desert…We only had each other. Me and Matt were roommates and we were like, ‘Let’s go to have dinner.’” But Cillian Murphy would sit these Oppenheimer meals out since, according to Blunt, “The sheer volume of what he had to take on and shoulder is so monumental…Of course he didn’t want to come and have dinner with us.” Matt Damon (who plays Manhattan Project director Leslie Groves) supported this, saying, “He couldn’t. His brain was just too full.” Too full for enchiladas?!

Cillian Murphy didn’t deny that he would snub these Oppenheimer cast dinners, saying, “You know that when you have those big roles, that responsibility, you feel it’s kind of overwhelming.” Indeed, the entire film is poised to feel overwhelming, as its three-hour runtime makes it Christopher Nolan’s longest film to date and IMAX prints are over 11 miles long and weigh around 600 pounds. Now, the question is, Do we see it before or after Barbie when it opens on July 21st?

Cillian Murphy has been a loyal Christopher Nolan collaborator, playing Scarecrow in The Dark Knight trilogy, joining the ensemble of Inception and appearing as a soldier with PTSD in Dunkirk before signing on for Oppenheimer, which is likely to earn Murphy the highest acclaim of his career. Murphy has earned consistent praise since breaking out with 28 Days Later, later earning a Golden Globe nod for Breakfast on Pluto, leading the Palme d’Or winning The Wind That Shakes the Barley and playing the head of the Peaky Blinders on the BBC series.

How do you think Cillian Murphy will do in Oppenheimer? Do you think he will finally get an Oscar nomination?