Cillian Murphy has deservedly grabbed a big share of the headlines for conveying the genius as well as moral conundrum of theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer on the big screen. The Irish actor is the frontrunner to win the 2024 Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
However, Christopher Nolan’s epic biographical thriller also brought the incredible talents of other actors to the fore. Alongside Murphy, Emily Blunt and Robert Downey Jr. have also earned Oscar nominations. However, in a bid to deliver an engrossing performance, Blunt ended up hurting her co-star.
Why Emily Blunt Is Sorry About One Scene With Cillian Murphy
Emily Blunt portrayed Katherine “Kitty” Oppenheimer, wife of J. Robert Oppenheimer in the documentary feature.
Kitty, who battles alcoholism, remains on the sidelines for the majority of the movie. However, whenever she enters the room, her presence is felt by viewers, thanks to the English actress’ indelible display.
One of her most powerful scenes came when the father of the atomic bomb lost the plot after the mysterious death of Jean Tatlock, who had a romantic relationship with him.
“You don’t get to commit sin and then ask all of us to feel sorry for you when there are consequences,” Kitty remarks as Oppenheimer breaks down in front of her. During the filming of this scene, Nolan asked Blunt to slap Cillian Murphy. Speaking to The Sun, Blunt revealed:
“Sorry about your cheekbone, Cillian. Poor Cillian. Chris went, ‘Hit him.’ And I was like, ‘I don’t know.’ And Cillian was like, ‘Do it, do it… Chris was like, ‘He’ll be fine… do it.’ I slapped him then I grabbed him, by the neck really, by the collar.”
Murphy’s face got red for no reason as the slaps didn’t even make it to the movie’s final cut!
How Emily Blunt’s Gift Led to Cillian Murphy Needing Medical Treatment
That’s not it. Blunt’s actions also led to the Peaky Blinders star needing medical attention while they were filming in New Mexico.
The Devil Wears Prada star grew concerned for Murphy’s sleep due to the responsibility such an intense role brought to him. Accordingly, she decided to gift him with a “fantastic” pillow. Unfortunately, her intentions didn’t match the impact.
“I was very concerned about Cillian’s sleep when we started shooting because I felt he had a monumental undertaking with this role,” Blunt underlined. “I thought, like, that’s a good start-of-shoot gift. He told me he woke up in the middle of the night and he was so thrilled to fluff himself back to sleep on the pillow, that he sort of threw his head down back on to it and smashed his head open on the bedside table.”
After that *wonderful* sleep, Murphy came to set and the crew had to glue his head shut. Regardless of these little mishappenings, the Oppenheimer cast gelled together quickly, and their incredible chemistry was reflected aptly in the 13-time Oscar-nominated film.
