Robert Downey Jr “never witnessed a greater sacrifice” by actor than Cillian Murphy in ‘Oppenheimer’
Robert Downey Jr has said he has “never witnessed a greater sacrifice” by an actor than by his co-star Cillian Murphy for the starring role in Oppenheimer.
The new thriller from Christopher Nolan was released on Friday, July 21st, and stars Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, a theoretical physicist who was instrumental in developing the first nuclear weapons for the US government as part of the Manhattan Project in the Second World War.
In a new interview with People, Murphy’s co-stars Downey Jr and Florence Pugh effused about his dedication to the role. The former, who plays Lewis Strauss, revealed: “I have never witnessed a greater sacrifice by a lead actor in my career.”
“He knew it was going to be a behemoth ask when Chris called him. But I think he also had the humility that is required to survive playing a role like this,” Downey Jr added: “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.”
Continuing to praise Murphy, Pugh, who features as Oppenheimer’s lover Jean Tatlock said: “Chris [Nolan] had one of the most incredible leads in Cillian.”
She explained: “He is an actor that I have been watching for quite some time and have been desperate to work with for ages. You’d have to be mad to say no. It was truly one of the best experiences that I’ve had.”
The British actor concluded: “Working with him was hugely impressive. Every single day he shows up knowing every single possible way, intonation, inflexion of how to bring this character to life. That was hugely impressive to me. There’s a reason why he is one of the greats.”
Watch the trailer for Oppenheimer below.
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