Now that Cillian Murphy finally landed a lead role in Christopher Nolan’s movie, Oppenheimer, will it be difficult to fathom that in a parallel universe, he plays Batman? Long before the Irish actor helmed the pivotal role in Nolan’s movie, he auditioned for the role of the Caped Crusader in the British director’s 2005 Batman Begins.
However, Cillian Murphy was rejected from the role of Batman and was instead offered the role of the DC villain, Scarecrow. Thus, appearing on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast, Murphy reflected upon his striking features that landed him the lead in the 2023 summer blockbuster while scrapping his 2005 DC opportunity.
Cillian Murphy’s Physicality Snatched His DC Opportunity
Long before Cillian Murphy helmed the lead role in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, he auditioned to play the role of Batman in 2005. Preparing to lead Nolan’s debut DC movie, Batman Begins, the Irish actor tried to impress the acclaimed filmmaker and bag the opportunity in The Dark Knight trilogy. However, Murphy lost the role to Christian Bale, who was considered a better choice for the role.
Years later, after taking on the titular role of the nuclear physicist in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, Cillian Murphy appeared on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast and recalled why he wasn’t right for the role of Batman. Realizing he was the ”wrong” choice to play Bruce Wayne, Murphy confessed, “I don’t think I’m the physical specimen to play Bruce Wayne”.
Praising Christian Bale for his phenomenal performance in The Dark Knight trilogy, Murphy stated, “[Christian Bale] transformed himself into that role and he’s done many, many times. I think he defined that role as Batman.” The actor even mentioned how Nolan knew that he wasn’t right for the role, and thus offered him the part of Scarecrow.
Cillian Murphy Landed Oppenheimer For His Blue Eyes
While the actor confessed to realizing that he wasn’t right for the role of the Caped Crusader, Cillian Murphy claimed how he developed a strong friendship with Christopher Nolan, following his audition. Evidently, the British director was thoroughly impressed by Murphy’s creative side and thus signed the actor in most of his movies.
After working together in a handful of movies, Christopher Nolan finally offered Cillian Murphy a lead role in his 2023 summer blockbuster, Oppenheimer. Evidently, the acclaimed filmmaker had his reasons to cast Murphy for the role of the infamous physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. Claiming to be an admirer of the Irish actor’s striking blue eyes, Christopher Nolan confessed to contacting Murphy.
“I remember I was up in San Francisco writing Batman Begins…I saw a picture of you with your shaved head and your crazy eyes — no offense. I remember being struck by your presence, literally from that one photograph” Nolan claimed.
Thus, if what Christopher Nolan claimed is to be believed, then Cillian Murphy’s blue eyes could be the reason why he was rejected from the role of Batman. However, the striking physicality that once took away Murphy’s career-changing opportunity eventually seems to have landed him the epic biography Oppenheimer.
Oppenheimer is running in theatres worldwide.
Source: WTF with Marc Maron, Entertainment Weekly
