How Cillian Murphy’s failed Batman audition was the toppled domino that led to ‘Oppenheimer’ role

It’s a matter of Hollywood legend nowadays that Cillian Murphy‘s involvement in Batman Begins started with a failed audition to portray the caped crusader. However, the actor and director Christopher Nolan are now opening up about how the screen test that seemingly went nowhere at the time actually may have kicked off the chain of events that resulted in Murphy landing the lead role in Oppenheimer almost two decades later.

Even when Nolan was perusing headshots for prospective Bruce Wayne candidates, the Memento director took note of Murphy’s “appearance and his amazing eyes and that gaze” which were used to such great effect in 28 Days Later. The pair had dinner together but Nolan told IGN that he knew immediately Murphy “didn’t feel right for Bruce Wayne, the Batman.”

Murphy admitted in that same interview his pitch for playing Batman “was an insane idea” but the audition nevertheless did bear some fruit. Murphy would go on to play Dr. Jonathan Crane, AKA Scarecrow, in not only Batman Begins, but the two sequels, as well. Years later, it was Murphy’s unforgettable gaze that once again crossed Nolan’s mind when considering actors for his newest movie, Oppenheimer. As the director explained:

“I really wanted to concentrate on who the real people were while I was putting the script together. Then you finish and you’re looking at the cover of American Prometheus, the book that I was adapting, and there’s this picture of Oppenheimer with this intense blue-eyed stare on the front, and I thought, ‘I know who can do that.’”

Oppenheimer follows the real-life story of the physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the creation of the world’s first atomic bomb. It also represents the latest in several Murphy/Nolan collaborations, including the aforementioned Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, and Dunkirk. However, Oppenheimer is the first time Murphy has played the lead role in a Nolan film. Considering his history with the director, we’d say it’s well-deserved.

Oppenheimer comes to theaters on July 21.