RDJ Confronted Nolan, Was Scared for Cillian Murphy When Filming Oppenheimer

Summary:

• Cillian Murphy ’s work ethic and methods shocked his Oppenheimer co-stars.
• The lead actor’s dedication left no room for compromise, and he was working himself into the ground.
• By the end of the shooting, Robert Downey Jr. even confronted director Nolan about him taking Murphy’s sacrifice for granted.

Christopher Nolan ’s Oppenheimer became one of the two biggest theatrical sensations of 2023, the one that saw its actors give the best performances of their careers and enchanted millions of viewers around the world.

The cast did their absolute damndest to deliver the most believable dramatic acting, but one actor in particular stood out from the rest.

Cillian Murphy’s Dedication Impressed His Co-Stars

Throughout the long filming of Oppenheimer, other movie stars were repeatedly surprised by lead actor Cillian Murphy’s work methods. According to them, Murphy didn’t spare a single minute for himself, giving his all to the movie: once, Robert Downey Jr. shared, the lead star spent his entire weekend learning 30,000 Dutch words for one tiny scene instead of going to Santa Fe with his colleagues.

Cillian Murphy’s dedication shows in Oppenheimer which became both his and Christopher Nolan’s magnum opus, the biggest work of their careers. But as you might imagine, such selflessness and lack of compromise took its toll on the lead actor’s condition, draining him of energy throughout the many months of filming.

Robert Downey Jr. wasn’t about to let that go unnoticed — and in his eyes, director Nolan was taking his star’s dedication much for granted. RDJ didn’t like that at all.

Downey Jr. Confronted Nolan About Murphy’s State

Seeing how they’d been working together for a couple of decades already by the time Cillian Murphy got the lead part in Oppenheimer, it’s not hard to understand why the actor’s dedication went largely unnoticed by Christopher Nolan. Murphy has always been a tireless workaholic — but this time, he had the hardest part ever.

“Cillian was the element I was able to completely take for granted — to the point where on Downey’s last day, he came up to me and said, ‘Do you understand how hard this guy is working for you?’ It was towards the end of the shoot. He was like, ‘He’s exhausted.’ And I said, ‘Thanks, Robert, he’ll be fine.’ And he was fine. But the point was taken that, yeah, I was able to take what he was doing on set for granted,” Christopher Nolan shared with Deadline.

Being praised by RDJ is one thing — and a mighty impressive one at that — but making him seriously worried about your well-being?.. Cillian Murphy must have had absolutely no pity on himself, and it’s great to learn that his co-stars genuinely cared about him.

Source: Deadline