There’s a reason Christopher Nolan can’t praise Cilian Murphy enough, and it’s not just because he nailed the intense “Oppenheimer” stare. As “Oppenheimer” opens worldwide to incredible critical acclaim, its lead star is receiving praises, not just from the audience, but his peers and costars. Now that’s the kind of accolade I can vibe with.
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Robert Downey Jr. Praises Cilian Murphy For His Insane Devotion To “Oppenheimer”
Murphy has a new number one fan, and it’s “Iron Man’s” Robert Downey Jr. “Oppenheimer” may be stealing our hearts, but Murphy already stole Downey’s.
In a recent interview with PEOPLE, Downey gave Murphy such high praise it’s hard to imagine Murphy not blushing when he hears it. “I have never witnessed a greater sacrifice by a lead actor in my career,” Downey, who is known for such roles as “Iron Man,” and “Dr. Doolittle,” gushed.
“He knew it was going to be a behemoth ask when Chris called him,” Downey added. “But I think he also had the humility that is required to survive playing a role like this. We’d be like, ‘Hey, we got a three-day weekend. Maybe we’ll go antiquing in Santa Fe. What are you going to do?’ ‘Oh, I have to learn 30,000 words of Dutch. Have a nice time.’ But that’s the nature of the ask.”
Compared to Nolan’s other projects, shooting for “Oppenheimer” was by far the shortest, coming in at just 57 days. Within that short time, Murphy insisted on remaining concentrated in order to nail his lines and his performance with minimal errors and retakes.
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Previously, co-star Matt Damon described Murphy’s dedication to his character, saying, “Of course he didn’t want to come and have dinner with us. He couldn’t. His brain was just too full.”
Emily Blunt also echoed Damon’s sentiment, revealing that he didn’t join them for cast dinners because “the sheer volume of what he had to take on and shoulder is so monumental.”
Throughout the time of the shoot, the entire cast stayed in one hotel and frequently met up for some fun non-work related stuff, of which Murphy was always absent.
Murphy, who lost weight for the role, told PEOPLE that playing the character was “overwhelming.”
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