Nolan Explains Why Robert Pattinson Didn't Get a Role in Oppenheimer

Cillian Murphy seems to be the perfect choice for the role of J. Robert Oppenheimer, as he is not only a brilliant actor, but also looks quite similar to the real scientist himself.

However, it seems that we could have gotten a completely different actor to portray the "Father of the Atomic Bomb," as was recently revealed in an interview with the film's director, Christopher Nolan.

Speaking to Tara Hitchcock, Nolan shared that none other than Robert Pattinson could have starred in the upcoming biopic, as he was the one who inspired the director to make it in the first place.

He revealed that while working on the filmmaker's previous project, the 2020 sci-fi action-thriller Tenet, Pattinson gave him a book of Oppenheimer's speeches as they used the Manhattan Project as a metaphor for the movie.

It intrigued Christopher so much that he eventually decided to make a movie about the scientist's life.

However, when Nolan was asked why there wasn't a role for Pattinson, the director said that the actor was simply "too busy."

While Nolan didn't reveal the specific role he had in mind for Robert, it seems only logical that he would have been cast as Oppenheimer himself, as without him, the movie would never have happened.

And he might have given a great performance, as Pattinson's career has been on the rise in recent years.

Aside from the aforementioned Tenet, he also starred in such acclaimed films as The Lighthouse (2019), The King (2019), and The Batman ( 2022), successfully distancing himself from the role of Edward Cullen from the Twilight films, which some believed would haunt him throughout his career.

Nevertheless, Cillian Murphy will undoubtedly deliver an exceptional performance, and considering that he was long overdue for the lead role after all of his collaborations with Nolan, perhaps it is for the best.

Oppenheimer will be released on July 21, 2023.

Source: YouTube