Cillian Murphy is earning rave reviews for his performance in Oppenheimer. In a new interview with GQ, the actor opened up about losing out on the leading role as Batman which went to his co-star Christian Bale. The actor lost out on the role in the trilogy but was eventually cast as the villain Dr. Jonathan Crane (aka The Scarecrow) in Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises. (Also read: Oppenheimer Bhagavad Gita row: Nitish Bhardwaj says verse ‘should also be understood from scientist’s state of mind’)
About Oppenheimer
Cillian Murphy stars as J. Robert Oppenheimer, the nuclear physicist who is credited for inventing the atomic bomb in Nolan’s latest film. Oppenheimer was one of the primary forces for the Manhattan Project, a government research effort that was assembled for the creation of nuclear weapons around 1942-1946. The Christopher Nolan film is based on the biographical novel American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2006.
Cillian Murphy on losing Batman role
In a new interview with GQ, Cillian opened up about the process of playing the physicist, and also recalled the time when he lost out to be cast as Batman in Nolan’s trilogy. When asked about his reaction to being almost cast in the part and whether he thinks it was for the best, Cillian said, “Yes, I think it was for the best because we got Christian Bale’s performance, which is a stunning interpretation of that role. I never considered myself as the right physical specimen for Batman. To me, it was always going to be Christian Bale.”
Oppenheimer controversy
Oppenheimer has faced some controversy in India since its release. In a scene, Cillian’s character is shown having sex with psychologist Jean Tatlock (Florence Pugh) as she asks him to read a verse from what appears to be a Sanskrit book, whose title or cover is not visible. On Jean’s insistence, a confused Oppenheimer reads out the verse she points at: “Now, I am become Death, destroyer of the world.”
Meanwhile, Christopher Nolan’s film released on the same date as Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. While Barbie is outperforming Oppenheimer worldwide, the latter is doing better at the Indian box office. After four days, the film earned ₹55.75 crore nett in India.