Actor Cillian Murphy is front and center in nearly every scene in Christopher Nolan’s sprawling, three-hour-plus biopic “Oppenheimer” — a daunting challenge for any performer. But Murphy’s co-star, Robert Downey, Jr., said that the actor, who won an Oscar as physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, was not only up to the task, but put himself through a demanding regime to maintain authenticity.
Speaking to People, Downey – who also won an Oscar for “Oppenheimer” – said of Murphy, “He knew that [“Oppenheimer”] was going to be a behemoth when Chris asked him. But I think he also had the humility that is required to survive playing a role like that.” To illustrate his point, Downey said, “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.”
Emily Blunt, who played Oppenheimer’s wife, Kitty, said that Murphy was equally rigorous in maintaining an extreme diet to match the real Oppenheimer’s slim build. “He had such a monumental undertaking,” she told People. “And he could only eat, like, an almond a day. He was so emaciated.” Of his diet during filming, Murphy told IndieWire, “I don’t advise it.”
