Cillian Murphy ‘Was Desperate’ to Be Christopher Nolan’s Lead in ‘Oppenheimer’ After Five Movies as a Supporting Actor: ‘It’s a Huge Responsibility’

Christopher Nolan and Cillian Murphys working relationship spans nearly 20 years and counting as the filmmaker has directed the Peaky Blinders favorite in six movies: Three Batman films, Inception, Dunkirk and Oppenheimer. Notably, however, the upcoming atomic bomb drama marks Murphys first time headlining a Nolan picture in the lead role. Murphy stars as theoretical physicist and father of the atomic bomb J. Robert Oppenheimer. In a recent interview with the Associated Press, the actor admitted he was desperate to lead a Nolan movie.

I have always said publicly and privately, to Chris, that if Im available and you want me to be in a movie, Im there. I dont really care about the size of the part, Murphy said. But deep down, secretly, I was desperate to play a lead for him.

Murphy landed the lead role in Oppenheimer via a cold-call offer from Nolan.

Hes so understated and self-deprecating and, in his very English manner, just said, Listen, Ive written this script, its about Oppenheimer. Id like you to be my Oppenheimer, Murphy said. It was a great day We have this long-standing understanding and trust and shorthand and respect. It felt like the right time to take on a bigger responsibility. And it just so happened that it was a huge one.

Oppenheimer is based on the 2005 bookAmerican PrometheusbyKai BirdandMartin J. Sherwin and tracks the physicist as he wrestles with the creation of the atomic bomb during World War II.

You realize this is a huge responsibility. He was complicated and contradictory and so iconic, Murphy said of the character. But you know youre with one of the great directors of all time. I felt confident going into it with Chris. Hes had a profound impact on my life, creatively and professionally. Hes offered me very interesting roles and Ive found all of them really challenging. And I just love being on his sets.

The question will be how Chris presents it, Murphy added of the film. I think people will be very surprised and wowed by what he does. Anything I say will just seem a bit lame as compared to seeing this in an IMAX theater.

Joining Murphy in Oppenheimer is an all-star cast that includes Emily Blunt as Katherine Kitty Oppenheimer, Matt Damon as Manhattan Project director Gen. Leslie Groves Jr. and Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss, a founding commissioner of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. Florence Pugh, Benny Safdie, Michael Angarano, Josh Hartnett, Rami Malek, Dane DeHaan, Dylan Arnold, David Krumholtz, Alden Ehrenreich and Matthew Modine also star.

Murphy revealed last year that in prepping to play Oppenheimer he skipped over all the mechanics of what makes an atom bomb and instead focused on the man himself.

[I prepped by doing] an awful lot of reading, Murphy recently toldThe Guardian. Im interested in the man and what [inventing the atomic bomb] does to the individual. The mechanics of it, thats not really for me I dont have the intellectual capability to understand them, but these contradictory characters are fascinating.

Oppenheimer opens in theaters July 21 from Universal Pictures.