Before ‘Oppenheimer’, Christopher Nolan forced the producers of ‘Batman’ to watch Cillian Murphy’s audition to give him a role

Christopher Nolan had his eye on Cillian Murphy long before the filming of ‘Oppenheimer’, the filmmaker’s latest film starring the Irish actor. Throughout his filmography, the interpreter’s face has appeared in five of his films.

The first time Murphy peeked into Nolan’s universe was in ‘Batman Begins’, the first of the Gotham superhero trilogy, almost 20 years ago. recently speaking with Entertainment Weekly, the duo reminisced about the casting process, and how Murphy had ended up being in the film.

The two admitted that, from the first moment, the actor did not give the profile that was sought to play Bruce Wayne (this role ends up being for Christian Bale). However, Nolan was not willing to part with him and forced the producers to watch his auditions to get him another role.

“When we first spoke, we both knew we weren’t going to get you to play Batman,” commented the director. “But I really wanted to work with youI wanted you in the movie. We recorded some very elaborate tests, on 35mm, on a small set. There was an electric atmosphere among the team when you started acting.”

This was all orchestrated by Nolan to get the film’s producers as infatuated as he was. That way, even if he didn’t get the role of Wayne, he could be given the role. that of the villain of the tape, Dr. Jonathan Crane / ‘The Scarecrow’.

“We did two scenes. One was playing Bruce Wayne and one was playing Batman. I made sure the producers came and saw you on set,” Nolan commented. “Everyone loved watching you act so much, that when I said, ‘Okay, Christian Bale is Batman, but how about Cillian for ‘The Scarecrow’?’ There was not even an opposition.“

“All the previous Batman villains have been played by major movie stars.and: Jack Nicholson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Carrey… It was a big jump, and it was basically because of that test that we recorded. That’s how you got the part.”

It was also not a surprise for the actor not to receive the leading role on that occasion.

“SIt always seemed fitting to me that Christian Bale should take the role. But I remember the tickle of wearing the suit and being directed by you. Those tests were big productions,Murphy stated.

In the next two films of the trilogy, the actor returned to his role briefly, making small appearances within the plots. Later, he would meet Nolan again in titles like ‘Origin’ or ‘Dunkirk’.

Now, in ‘Oppenheimer’, we will see the actor at the helm of the film. Recently, speaking about their journey together, the actor admitted to having been secretly “desperate” wishing for an opportunity like this to come up to work together.

“I’ve always told (publicly and privately) Chris that if I’m available and he wants me in a movie, I’ll be there.. I don’t really care about the size of the character,” Murphy told Associated Press. “But inside… secretly, I was desperate to make a lead out of him.”

After several decades of work and effort, the day has arrived. ‘Oppenheimer’ will be released in theaters on July 21.