July 14, 2023
Christopher Nolan revealed Robert Pattinson may have been the reason he went on to make the highly anticipated Oppenheimer starring Cillian Murphy as the lead actor.
In an interview with journalist Tara Hitchcock, the acclaimed filmmaker disclosed how he and the Twilight star got to talking about physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer.
He also dished upon why he did not cast Pattinson, who starred in his film Tenet, as the lead star in biographical thriller film.
The Dark Knight trilogy director began, “Yeah, Rob, off the back of Tenet, where we refer to Oppenheimer, and I had wrote a thing about this incredible moment that Oppenheimer and the scientist of the Manhattan Project had where they could not completely eliminate the possibility that when they triggered that first gadget, that first atomic device, they might start the chain reaction that would destroy the world.”
“We used that as a metaphor for Tenet, which Rob was in,” the Oscar nominated director continued, “As a wrap gift, he gave me a book of Oppenheimer‘s speeches from the 1950s, where you’re reading these great intellects trying to deal with the massive consequences of the way in which they’ve changed life forever, for all of us.”
As to why he chose Murphy instead of Pattinson in the film, set to be released on July 21, 2023, Nolan said he “was busy,” adding, “he’s very much in demand these days.”
Apart from Murphy, the star studded cast of the movie also includes Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Rami Malek and Kenneth Branagh.