The day Christopher Nolan called about Murphy hung up the phone in disbelief.
The Irish actor, though a regular presence going back almost two decades, had always been a supporting player. This time, Nolan wanted him to lead.
鈥淗e鈥檚 so understated and self-deprecating and, in his very English manner, just said, 鈥楲isten, I鈥檝e written this script, it鈥檚 about Oppenheimer. I鈥檇 like you to be my Oppenheimer,鈥欌�� Murphy, 47, told The Associated Press earlier this year. 鈥淚t was a great day.鈥�
For Murphy, it is never not exciting to get a call from Nolan. It鈥檚 just hard to predict if he鈥檚 going to. He knows there are some movies he鈥檚 right for and some movies he isn鈥檛.
鈥淚 have always said publicly and privately, to Chris, that if I鈥檓 available and you want me to be in a movie, I鈥檓 there. I don鈥檛 really care about the size of the part,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut deep down, secretly, I was desperate to play a lead for him.鈥�
Murphy first met Nolan in 2003. He was brought in to screen test for Batman 鈥� not just the movie, the character. Murphy knew he wasn鈥檛 right for the Dark Knight, but he wanted to meet the man who鈥檇 directed 鈥淚nsomnia鈥� and 鈥淢emento.鈥� They hit it off and Murphy got to tap into a sinister intensity to play the corrupt psychiatrist Dr. Crane/Scarecrow, who would go on to appear in all three films. Nolan would also call on Murphy to be the conflicted heir to a business empire in 鈥淚nception鈥� and a traumatized soldier in 鈥淒unkirk.鈥�
鈥淲e have this long-standing understanding and trust and shorthand and respect,鈥� Murphy said. 鈥淚t felt like the right time to take on a bigger responsibility. And it just so happened that it was a f---ing huge one.鈥�
Soon after the phone call, Nolan flew to Dublin to meet Murphy and hand him a physical copy of the script, which he devoured right there in Nolan鈥檚 hotel room. It was, he said, the best he鈥檇 ever read.
Then the scale of it started to sink in.
This would be a film about the charismatic and controversial theoretical physicist who helped create the atomic bomb. Oppenheimer and his would test it on July 16, 1945, not knowing what was going to happen. There was a non-zero chance that the heat could set off a chain reaction that would ignite the atmosphere and literally set the world on fire.
It didn鈥檛, but several weeks later the United States would drop those bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing tens of thousands of people and leaving many with lifelong injuries. Soon, the United States was at work to strengthen its nuclear arsenal, developing plans to work on an even more catastrophic weapon: the hydrogen bomb.
As 鈥淟ike it or not J. Robert Oppenheimer is the most important person who ever lived.鈥�
鈥淥ppenheimer,鈥� which opens in theaters on July 21, features a starry cast including as Oppenheimer鈥檚 wife Kitty, as the man who hired Oppenheimer for the job at Los Alamos, as a founder of the Atomic Energy Commission and many more rounding out the pivotal players in and around this tense moment in history.
鈥淵ou realize this is a huge responsibility. He was complicated and contradictory and so iconic,鈥� Murphy said. 鈥淏ut you know you鈥檙e with one of the great directors of all time. I felt confident going into it with Chris. He鈥檚 had a profound impact on my life, creatively and professionally. He鈥檚 offered me very interesting roles over and I鈥檝e found all of them really challenging. And I just love being on his sets.鈥�
Murphy continued: 鈥淎ny actor would want to be on a Chris Nolan set, just to see how it works and to witness his command of the language of film and the mechanics of film and how he鈥檚 able to use that broad canvas within the mainstream studio system to make these very challenging human stories.鈥�
Over the years, Murphy has come to appreciate that with Nolan there鈥檚 always something deeper to discover than what鈥檚 literally on the page. was only 70 pages and there wasn鈥檛 much to his character, not even a name.
鈥淗e said, 鈥楲ook, let鈥檚 figure it out together and you and me can find an emotional journey for the character.鈥� And we did it. We did it out in the water on that boat. That comes from trust and respect,鈥� Murphy said. 鈥淚鈥檓 really proud of that performance.鈥�
As with all Nolan endeavors, secrecy around 鈥淥ppenheimer鈥� is vitally important. Murphy loves the 鈥渙ld-fashioned approach鈥� that builds interest and anticipation.
鈥淭here鈥檚 an awful lot to talk about when we can talk freely,鈥� Murphy said with a smile.
The difference from other Nolan originals, even 鈥淒unkirk,鈥� is that 鈥淥ppenheimer鈥� is rooted in historical fact and actual transcripts. You can read the book it鈥檚 based on, Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin鈥檚 Pulitzer Prize-winning 鈥淎merican Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer.鈥� You can watch the 1981 documentary 鈥淭he Day After Trinity鈥� on The Criterion Channel.
And you can try to parse Nolan鈥檚 words for clues. He鈥檚 talked about recreating the Trinity test, the fascinating paradoxes, the twists, turns and ethical dilemmas; for him, the story is cinematic and both dream and nightmare. But ultimately, it鈥檚 something that
鈥淭he question will be how Chris presents it,鈥� Murphy said. 鈥淚 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.鈥�
The time for discussions will be after the movie comes out. But Murphy did offer up that they worked hard to get Oppenheimer鈥檚 look right, from the narrow silhouette to the pipe and the porkpie hat. Oppenheimer, he said, 鈥渟eemed aware of his own potential mythology.鈥� But, again, those conversations will have to wait.
鈥淚鈥檓 really proud of the movie and I鈥檓 really proud of what Chris has achieved. This was, for sure, a special one, certainly because of the history with me and Chris. We were not walking around the set high-fiving, but it did feel special.鈥� Murphy said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an event every time he releases a film, and rightly so. Whether I鈥檓 in them or not, I always go to see his movies.鈥�
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A version of this story first moved on May 3, 2023. It's being sent again in advance of the film's release next week.
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
