Universal Pictures
Earlier this week, some of the first photos from Christopher Nolan’s upcoming nuke drama Oppenheimer were released.
Showing off the film’s star-studded cast — which features Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, and more — the images revealed the first look at Downey Jr’s character Lewis Strauss.
Not only is Downey Jr’s physical appearance a stark contrast from how movie fans are used to seeing him, but the performance is set to be a change of pace for the 57-year-old dramatically, as well. At least according to Nolan, who obviously knows a thing or two about making movies.
“We all know that Robert Downey Jr. is one of the great movie stars. It’s so easy to forget that he’s also one of the greatest actors of all time. Watching him lose himself in that performance, and completely lose himself in a character in this way, was just an incredible reminder of just what an amazing actor he is,” Nolan told TotalFilm in a recent interview.
The 52-year-old The Dark Knight and Inception director also showered praise on Murphy, the Peaky Blinders star who leads the film as J. Robert Oppenheimer, who is infamously known as “the father of the atomic bomb.”
“I’ve always known since I first met him – however many years ago it is now, almost 20 years – that he is one of the great actors, not just of his generation, but of all time,” Nolan says.
“And I’ve been waiting for the project, and I know he has too, where we can collaborate with him as the lead, and I could put the most enormous weight – cinematic weight – on his shoulders, and watch him carry that burden. It was such a thrill to be able to call Cillian, and say, ‘This is it.’”
Nolan, of course, has previously worked with Murphy on Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Inception, The Dark Knight Rises, and Dunkirk. As for Murphy, in addition to Peaky Blinder, he was most recently seen starring in A Quiet Place Part II.
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Oppenheimer, Nolan’s first project at Universal Pictures following his split from Warner Bros. — is currently scheduled to hit theaters in the United States on Friday, July 21, 2023.