Oppenheimer has been a success story for the books. From director Christopher Nolan to the ensemble cast, everyone was the perfect match to bring this amazing story to life. And leading it all was Cillian Murphy, who played the part of American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer perfectly. But the perfect casting doesn’t end there, as Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, and every other cast member was the perfect fit for each character that Chris Nolan had envisioned.
In the most recent episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, the three leading cast members from the movie were present to talk about their experience while filming the 2023 mega-blockbuster. When the host asked if they had given any gifts to each other while filming or at the wrap party, Emily Blunt shared a pretty funny story that could have been, at that time, equally traumatizing.
Emily Blunt’s Gift to Cillian Murphy Had Him Bloodied
British actress Emily Blunt is one of the sweetest people on Earth. And in keeping with this nature of hers, while they were filming for the Chris Nolan movie, Blunt gifted her co-star, Cillian Murphy, a pillow. Talking on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Blunt said,
“I just felt Cillian needed, even more than food, was sleep on this movie. So I got him this very beautiful pillow that I’m obsessed with. These pillows, Hastens pillows. I gave him this pillow, but… do you mind if I tell the story?”
And with her co-star’s permission, the actress further went on to add,
“He was really luxuriating in this pillow one night, and he woke up in the middle of the night. This is what he told me the next day. And he went to fluff himself back down in the pillow, misjudged where it was, and smashed his head open on the bedside table. So he came to work, and they had to glue his head shut!”
On top of being hungry and cold, poor Murphy had a bloodied forehead that had to be glued shut by the movie’s makeup director.
Cillian Murphy Starved Himself to Play Oppenheimer
As we have heard a few times by now, Cillian Murphy was the worst dinner partner among the Oppenheimer cast, as stated by Matt Damon. Kimmel asked the 47-year-old actor why he starved himself for the role, to which he said, though he didn’t like being starved and not eating anything, it helped him get into the character of Oppenheimer better.
“He was insecure about his physicality,” Murphy said of the real Oppenheimer. “But you had this hugely strong mind and this really frail body, so it was useful.”
Talking about his least favorite part of the transformation, Cillian Murphy said,
“All of it! I didn’t enjoy any of it. I don’t recommend any of it,” he said before adding, “I think it’s going to bed hungry. I wouldn’t do that by choice. It was always cold. I sound like Tiny Tim or something.”
After going through so much, the actor managed to give the performance of a lifetime, and is being lauded for it, rightly so. Cillian Murphy is currently the favorite to win the Oscar race this season for his brilliant portrayal in Oppenheimer.
