Cillian Murphy is the star of Christopher Nolans Oppenheimer, but is he ready to embrace the pink? Given the Barbenheimer craze thats sweeping the nation, Murphy has naturally been asked a lot about Greta Gerwigs Barbie. Omelete (via Cinfilos) even asked the Oppenheimer actor if hed play a Ken in a potential sequel to Gerwigs now historic comedy blockbuster.
Sure, yeah. Lets read the script, lets have a conversation, Murphy responded about playing Ken. I cant wait to see [Barbie]. I cant wait to see the movie. I think its great for cinema to get all these great movies happening this summer.
Barbie opened to a massive $162 million during its opening weekend, but Oppenheimer was no slouch. The film debuted to a huge $82 million, a staggering number considering Nolans latest is a talky, three-hour biographical drama thats also rated R.
Nolantold IGNahead of both films opening in theaters that its terrific to have two summer tentpoles being released together.
Summer, in a healthy marketplace, is always crowded, and weve been doing this a long time, Nolan said. I think for those of us who care about movies, weve been really waiting to have a crowded marketplace again, and now its here and thats terrific.
Murphy agreed with Nolan,telling IGN: I think its great. I mean, Ill be going to see Barbie. I cant wait to see it. I think its just great for the industry and for audiences that we have two amazing films by amazing filmmakers coming out the same day. Could spend a whole day in the cinema, whats better than that?
Whether or not Murphy becomes a Ken remains to be seen. For now, hes still processing everything that went into becoming J. Robert Oppenheimer, the theoretical physicist who created the atomic bomb during World War II. Murphy went through dramatic isolation periods and weight loss during filming, so much so that Robert Downey Jr. said hes never seen an actor sacrifice more for a role than Murphy in Oppenheimer. Is Oppenheimer a hero or a villain? The discussion is a nuanced one for Murphy.
I do think that he believed it would be the weapon to end all wars, Murphy recently told NME. He thought that [having the bomb] would motivate countries to form a sort of nuclear world governance. He was naive.
Murphy added that Nolan helped him unlock the more nuanced parts of Oppenheimers character. Chris used this amazing phrase, he said. We were talking about Oppenheimers arc and he said, You know, hes dancing between the raindrops morally. That unlocked something in my mind when I was preparing.
Oppenheimer is now playing in theaters nationwide from Universal Pictures.