Cillian Murphy Shares Unique Reflection On Career Post-Oppenheimer Oscar Win 8 Months Later

Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy shares a unique reflection on his career after taking home an Oscar for his role in the Christopher Nolan film. Hitting theaters last year and serving as one half of the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon alongside Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, Nolan’s biopic of American theoretical physicist and atomic bomb architect J. Robert Oppenheimer was a massive success both critically and commercially. Oppenheimer reviews were glowing, and Murphy, who had previously starred mostly in smaller movies or in supporting roles, was a major point of praise.

In a recent interview with Associated Press ahead of the release of his new film, Small Things Like These, Murphy reflects on what it was like to win an Oscar for his role in Oppenheimer. The actor calls the experience “humbling,” while also celebrating one added bonus of becoming an Oscar-winner: it can help smaller movies get made. Check out Murphy’s comment below when asked if his Oscar win put Small Things Like These on the radar for U.S. distributors:

“I’m not aware of it, really, because it feels so brand new and so fresh. You know, it’s very hard to kind of speak about it because
it was a hugely humbling and almost passive experience, because you don’t really have any control over other people voting
on the work that you did. But if it allows us to tell the sorts of stories that I’d like to tell, which have a point of view, which have something to say, then I’ll take it.”

What Murphy’s Oppenheimer Oscar Win Means For His Upcoming Films

The Actor Has Some Projects Titles Coming Up

Prior to Oppenheimer, Murphy had appeared in plenty of popular films, but he often wasn’t the lead. He starred as a villain in Red Eye (2005), for example, an underrated Wes Craven horror, and he also appeared in a number of Nolan’s earlier films, including as Scarecrow in all three Dark Knight movies. His most notable leading feature film roles prior to 2023 were probably both in Danny Boyle movies: Jim in 28 Days Later (2002) and Robert Capa in Sunshine (2007). He also, of course, starred in Peaky Blinders.

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Murphy’s Oscar win means that he could end up headlining more films moving forward. He’s set to reprise his role as Tommy Shelby for a Peaky Blinders movie for Netflix, which is sure to massively benefit from Oppenheimer‘s success. Small Things Like These reviews have thus far been very positive from critics, and the film currently enjoys a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. Murphy’s Oscar win is also sure to benefit Boyle’s 28 Years Later, in which he reprises his role as Jim.

Our Take On Murphy’s Post-Oppenheimer Career

Murphy Isn’t A Traditional Hollywood Movie Star

Murphy, it seems, is content to continue starring in smaller, more auteur-driven projects, speaking to his love of filmmaking and storytelling. Though Oppenheimer was a massive hit, it doesn’t seem like Murphy will be making the jump to more leading man roles in traditional Hollywood blockbusters, as his career thus far suggests that popcorn entertainment isn’t really what he’s interested in. If he can leverage his Oppenheimer role to get projects off the ground that would otherwise struggle, it’s clear that there are plenty of exciting Murphy roles still to come.

Source: Associated Press

Oppenheimer is a film by Christopher Nolan, which follows the theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, the man behind the atomic bomb. Cillian Murphy will play the titular role, with the story based on the book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin.

Release Date

July 21, 2023

Studio(s)

Syncopy Inc. , Atlas Entertainment

Distributor(s)

Universal Pictures

Runtime

150 Minutes

Budget

$100 Million

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