Cillian Murphy is currently basking in the success of his latest release Oppenheimer directed by Christopher Nolan. Reports suggest that the actor was paid a whopping amount for the titular role. He earned USD 10 million (Rs 82.25 Crore approximately). While it does sound like a mammoth amount, it is less than what Indian actor Prabhas charged for Adipurush. The actor was apparently paid a fee of Rs 150 Crore for the Om Raut directorial which was released on June 16.
Playing the lead role in a Nolan movie is a dream for many talented artists. Murphy, who is renowned for his role in Peaky Blinders, had his first encounter with Nolan while auditioning for Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins, a part which ultimately went to Christian Bale.
“To get to meet Chris for that movie—which, personally, I always thought was an absurd idea; me playing Batman! —was huge for me. But that meeting led to the character of Scarecrow and an extraordinary working experience. My feeling ever since has been, if Christopher Nolan asks you to do something, no matter what the size of the part, you just turn up.”
Murphy has been a mainstay in many of Nolan's movies like Inception, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, and Dunkirk.
Recalling receiving a call from Nolan for Oppenheimer, Murphy said, “I was not expecting him to call and ask me to play Oppenheimer. But he did. When I got off the phone, I just sat there rather stunned. I felt very lucky. And then we got to work. It "was unforgettable. It’s 20 years since I first met Chris, but even at that point, I was a fan, because I had seen Memento and Insomnia."
Produced by Universal Pictures (distributed by Warner Bros. Discovery), Oppenheimer was released on July 21 across theatres in India.
