Oppenheimer, released last year, is a biographical film about Robert J. Oppenheimer (portrayed by Cillian Murphy) who was responsible for developing the first atomic bomb.
Robert Downey Jr. portrayed Admiral Lewis Strauss — Oppenheimer’s nemesis. Murphy and Downey Jr. might have portrayed adversaries in Christopher Nolan’s flick, but in real life, they can’t get enough of saying nice words about each other.
Recently the Iron Man star received the Maltin Modern Master Award at the Santa Barbara Film Festival 2024 on Friday. During the event, Cillian Murphy delivered a touching speech praising RDJ, which almost brought tears to his eyes.
Co-Star’s Remark Left Robert Downey Jr. All Teary
Robert Downey Jr. was at the 2024 Santa Barbara International Film Festival to get the Maltin Modern Master Award. But he used a lot of his time on stage to praise his Oppenheimer co-star Cillian Murphy, who was also present there.
In return, his co-star called him “the most versatile actor of his generation,” saying “Robert works incredibly hard to make it look so easy because all the great ones do,” with much applause. The Peaky Blinders protagonist then went on to say:
“He’s not just a great actor, he’s kind of unicorn because he’s a great actor who’s also risen to the level of superstar stardom that few of us can kind of comprehend. And why do I think that is. I think that is because he’s one of the kindest, funniest, most generous actors I have ever worked with.”
When the camera focused on Downey Jr., he was clearly seen holding back tears, hearing Murphy’s words. Check the video here:
RDJ holding back tears during Cillian's speech I was not ready for this😭❤️😭 pic.twitter.com/ddwPee9Hn9
— Kitty00 (@kittyatdawn) February 10, 2024
The Irish actor also shared how he’s settled into the role of Downey Jr.’s straight man. He joked that every moment on camera with the Sherlock Holmes actor was enjoyable, despite his character wanting Murphy’s character to disappear forever.
Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr. Never Leave a Chance to Praise Each Other
In separate interviews, the actors, Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr. from Christopher Nolan’s latest film talked a lot about the mutual respect for each other outside of filming. In his interview with GQ, Murphy praised Downey Jr.’s performance, saying:
“I mean, acting with him was just extraordinary. He’s just electrifying, the most available, engaged, present, unpredictably brilliant actor I’ve ever worked with.”
Meanwhile, the Marvel star told People magazine that he was impressed by Murphy’s dedication to portraying the real-life physicist. He said:
“He knew it was going to be a behemoth ask when Chris called him. But I think he also had the humility that is required to survive playing a role like this. We’d be like, ‘Hey, we got a three-day weekend. Maybe we’ll go antiquing in Santa Fe. What are you going to do?’ ‘Oh, I have to learn 30,000 words of Dutch. Have a nice time.’ But that’s the nature of the ask. I have never witnessed a greater sacrifice by a lead actor in my career.”
Their comments show how much they admire each other, revealing the teamwork that contributed to Oppenheimer’s overall success.
Watch Oppenheimer on Amazon Prime Video.
