Christopher Nolan Cites 1 Christian Bale Film as the Predecessor To Cillian Murphy’s Oppenheimer
Christopher Nolan gave a lighthearted response when the prospect arose of his film Oppenheimer finally earning him his first Oscar for Best Director. In a recent interview after accepting an award in Washington DC, the legendary filmmaker discussed technology as an ongoing theme across his movies. The conversation illuminated how Cillian Murphy’s performance as atomic scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer builds on the pair’s earlier collaboration in Batman Begins.
What Aspects of Playing Scarecrow Primed Cillian Murphy for Embodying Oppenheimer?
In Batman Begins, Cillian Murphy memorably played Dr. Jonathan Crane, aka the sinister supervillain Scarecrow. As one of the most riveting antagonists in Nolan’s seminal Dark Knight trilogy, Murphy tapped into an almost mad scientist-esque zeal. This evidently steeled him for the challenge of humanizing the enigmatic real-life figure of J. Robert Oppenheimer.
As Nolan analyzed in the interview with The Atlantic, “When people are that smart, they can find a way to make anything make sense. It seemed to me that he [Oppenheimer] had a notion that until the bomb is used, people won’t really understand it. That’s a pretty extreme rationalization.”
Indeed, Oppenheimer and his fellow Manhattan Project scientists were so engrossed in the technical novelty of constructing the A-bomb, that they scarcely pondered the global turmoil it would catalyze. Their transfixion mirrors Cillian Murphy’s Scarecrow intoxication on weaponizing fear itself in Batman Begins.
Beyond Scarecrow, What Other Christopher Nolan Villains Presaged Oppenheimer?
But Cillian Murphy’s Scarecrow is hardly the only Nolan villain whose warped ethics apparently foreshadowed exploring Oppenheimer’s murky morality. Nolan’s 2006 film The Prestige, chronicling the venomous rivalry between two magicians, also provided insight into rationalizing extreme actions for ostensibly noble ends.
As Nolan recounted, “I don’t know if you know this, but [Nikola] Tesla was, somewhat controversially, credited with conceiving of mutually assured destruction. When he died…it was rumored that he had scribbled down a design for a sort of death ray.”
Also Read: Cillian Murphy Did Not Like One Thing About His Peaky Blinders Role
While likely the stuff of legend, Nolan noted the relevance of this mythical Tesla death ray to Oppenheimer’s complex actions: “That’s a pretty extreme rationalization, and Oppenheimer’s story is full of those mental gymnastics.”
So between Cillian Murphy’s charismatic turn as supervillain Scarecrow in Batman Begins and Nolan’s characterization of Nikola Tesla in The Prestige, the filmmaker had clearly already laid vital groundwork for finally bringing J. Robert Oppenheimer’s story to screen.
