The Destroyer of Worlds

Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is more than just a historically and dramatically rich biopic of the theoretical physicist who became known as the “father of the atomic bomb”. It is a sprawling, complex, psychologically sophisticated epic, spanning multiple timelines and genres.

The film explores the personal and professional life of J Robert Oppenheimer, his scientific breakthroughs and moral dilemmas, his alleged love affairs and legal battles. But above all, Oppenheimer is a horror film, and one in which Cillian Murphy delivers a stunning performance as the brilliant but tormented Oppenheimerhe who creates a monstrous force the likes of which mankind cannot comprehend. Murphy’s piercing eyes convey the anguish and despair of a man who sees too much, too late. The film is indeed rightly tipped to win as many Oscars as the contributing scientists did Nobel Prizes. As this is Murphy’s sixth collaboration with Nolan, it would be apt.

Long before Cillian Murphy was “the destroyer of worlds” or Shelby - he of Peaky Blinders notoriety - he was Jim, a coma victim who awakes in St Thomas Hospital 28 days after an apocalyptic virus is released in Great Britain. Jim finds the hospital and central London deserted, save for the infected, of course. Those opening scenes of Murphy wandering the streets of London in hospital scrubs carrying a single plastic bag shouting “Hello” are still haunting to this day. Even more so when compounded by the actual pandemic.

Those harrowing opening shots of an abandoned London (if only wishing made it so!), included footage shot on the Canon XL1. Incredible when you consider the film’s budget was around £5 million. We’ll leave the reshoot of the film’s ending to one side, and instead focus on the fact that Danny Boyle’s 2002 genre hit generated $85.7 million worldwide despite its limited US release on fewer than 1500 screens across the country. We can’t see Nolan or cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema trying to wrestle a Panavision Sphero 65 onto an XL1 for Oppenheimer. Nolan actually first set eyes on Cillian Murphy in an advert during the film’s press tour, and there’s no denying that 28 Days Later arguably hit the cultural zeitgeist in a very real way, catapulting Murphy to the top of many a call sheet.

With that in mind, standing at the precipice of

Oppenheimer with a budget of well over 100 million US, what must Cillian be making of his first leading role for Nolan?

Was there any advance warning from an agent or Chris’s team that he wanted you to play one of the most recognisable historical minds of the 20th century?

No. But I had always wanted to play the lead in a Chris Nolan film - who wouldn’t? I have always said publicly and privately to Chris that if he wants me to be in a movie I will be there. I think it’s the biggest film I’ve made.

So he calls? He writes? He sends a car?

He called me out of the blue, you know. That’s his MO. I think he enjoys that. I genuinely didn’t know what it would be though. Actually, Emma called me and put me onto Chris. He’s so understated and self-deprecating and, in his very English manner, just said, ‘Listen, I’ve written this script, it’s about Oppenheimer. I’d like you to be my Oppenheimer.’ We spoke at length and then I hung up the phone in utter disbelief and had to sit down.

I’ve heard that Nolan flew to Dublin to hand deliver the script in person back in September 2020.

He did, I read the whole thing in Chris’s Hotel room there and then. It was one of the best scripts I’d ever read in my life, and I immediately knew that it was going to be a huge responsibility because he was trying to put the audience on Oppenheimer’s shoulder.

Nolan actually penned some of the screenplay in the first person, didn’t he?

It took me a minute to actually comprehend and then I realised - oh, that’s a huge responsibility. We talked it through in detail. He also told me the date we were going to shoot and so I had six months, but I would have taken more. A lot of it was me just sitting in my basement walking around and talking to myself. You just read everything you can, watch all the archival footage and then go back to the script. Chris wrote it and he knew exactly how we wanted to tell the story, so it was a combination. You fly out to LA, you do camera tests, costume tests and just come at it very methodically. The man seemed aware of his own potential mythology though, you know? From the pipe to the porkpie hat.

What resources did you pool from to get the cut and thrust of Oppenheimer himself?

There’s so much information out there, and you have to choose carefully what you absorb. There are so many elements to it; the physicality, the voice, the iconography of the pipe, even the way he walks. We just worked it out in detail with each other during that period and it was really rewarding.

I suppose the way I approach things is I try to come at it from an emotional and instinctual way rather than an intellectual way. It’s what I’ve learned over the years. I remember this amazing phrase Chris used. We were discussing Oppenheimer’s arc and Chris said, ‘You know, he’s dancing between the raindrops morally.’

That unlocked something in my mind when I was preparing.

You’d always previously played a supporting player in Nolan’s films. Even when he asked you to play a soldier with combat shock in Dunkirk, you made it work with the Peaky Blinders schedule.

We know each other pretty well and he knows what roles might interest me, what I might respond to, what challenges me. I have always said publicly and privately to Chris - if I’m available and you want me to be in a movie, I’m there. I don’t really care about the size of the part. But yeah, deep down, secretly, I was desperate to play a lead for him.

We have this long-standing understanding and trust and shorthand and respect. It felt like the right time to take on a bigger responsibility. And it just so happened that it was a fucking huge one…Any 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, the mechanics of film, and how he’s able to use that broad canvas within the mainstream studio system to make these very challenging human stories…I’m really proud of the movie and I’m really proud of what Chris has achieved. This was, for sure, a special one.

Speaking of being on a Chris Nolan set, IMAX is an incredibly complex format. Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema had to reach out to Panavision lens specialist Dan

Sasak to adapt a range of glass for the movie. What’s the most noticeable change when you’re picture up from an actor’s perspective?

You do kind of get used to it as a Nolan veteran - I am used to the huge cameras and the racket they make. Hoyte van Hoytema is amazing so it doesn’t become a big deal. If you start thinking of your face at 80 feet… Well, you just can’t think about it like that. Chris never talked about it like that, he just cares about the performance, what’s happening in the moment and the truth of the scene.

I was told that you didn’t see any rushes or even playback on set.

This is a peculiar way that Chris works - you don’t see a frame of film whilst you are shooting. There are no monitors, no video village, no playback. It’s weirdly liberating, as you’re never reflecting, you’re moving forward all the time. I didn’t see a frame till the teaser.

It’s a profoundly moving and overwhelming experience, finally watching it. I was honestly “winded” by watching it the first time and I found it incredibly provocative. I watched it with my wife and son and we talked and talked for hours because the themes of the movie are the biggest themes there are. You feel so compelled to watch what’s happening with these people and how they’re drawn into the biggest of moral dilemmas.

You shot the majority of the film in Los Alamos, New Mexico. What was that setting and indeed set like in terms of your process?

Well, it’s a 360 set. When I first walked down the main street, it just hits you. The crew threw this town in the middle of the desert up out of nowhere, because that’s where he felt romantically attached. It was amazing, but it’s always the case with Chris’s films. The actor experiences the world as the character would and that brings something to the performance. He allows you that freedom, he allows you space to find the character. And the scenes never, ever, ever feel rushed. The most important thing on set with Chris is the performances. Sure, his films are so visually stunning and there are these amazing spectacles in there - but they always come second to the performances.

The performances are incredibly committed and it’s a really gripping cast. Nolan put a lot of focus on Kitty Oppenheimer, more so than the book. Emily Blunt’s performance is very moving.

In terms of the ensemble of actors, every day for me was a gift. Working with Emily (who I’ve worked with before) I think really helped give the history to Kitty and Oppenheimer. In terms of Oppenheimer, he certainly wasn’t the obvious choice to lead the Manhattan Project. They called him the great synthesiser because there were many many things he could build and accomplish, but he wasn’t the natural first choice. When they gave him the job he was extraordinary, and Kitty saw that in him as well. That’s why she really pushed him. They sustained that relationship. They really needed each other but from the outside, it would appear entirely dysfunctional.

How much did you wrestle with the arc of the celebrated physicist becoming Prometheus incarnate?

After Trinity and after what happened in Japan, he was one of the most recognisable people in the world. Slowly he had to reposition himself afterwards and try and figure out where he stood with it all. It’s a very unusual journey for the actor, morally, and it was really interesting to play. I think probably it’s much more human because none of us are clear-cut and definitive in what we believe to be right all of the time. When you think about what he lived through, the story of his life, it’s staggering. It’s this mad confluence of politics and science and war - the most exciting and terrifying time to live through. The story of his life is fascinating.

You’ve spoken about the level of focus needed to play the role during filming and I understand that everyone has a process. Does that process allow you to enjoy the production in a real way and were there any scenes that you particularly enjoyed working on?

One of the sections of the movie that I loved working on the most is the section in the room 2022, when we were in the hearing. We shot in this tiny shitty little room. There weren’t any movable walls or anything - it was just all of us in there with this huge camera and it felt almost like doing a play, because we were there for two weeks.

So, we had all these incredible actors like Jason Clark coming in and doing their piece. I found that emotional and heavy but in a brilliant way. It was a real challenge but that was a really enjoyable hunk of the movie in terms of shooting.

I have to say the score is totally enchanting.

It’s phenomenal, isn’t it? Chris has always used music and sound so extraordinarily in his movies, and for me this movie takes it to another level. I know the way Chris works and I know the level of excellence he expects, along with the kind of rigour and the amount of prep that he demands.

I’m going to ask a final question. Humour me28 Years Later. Any prospect?

I was talking to Danny recently and I said “Danny, we shot the movie at the end of 2000 so we’re definitely approaching 28 years later”. I have always said I’m up for it, I would love to do it. If Alex thinks there’s a script in it and Danny wants to do it I would love to do it.