See the Oppenheimer Cast Compared to Their Real-Life Counterparts
Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer is stuffed with A-List stars who portray a bevy of real historical figures.
"We've never stacked a film with that many known actors and famous people. That was a different process," casting director John Papsidera explained.
He continued, "Chris had a feeling and an instinct to drive people to this movie with a star-studded cast. We usually don’t think like that for his films. Chris’ films typically have two or three, or five main characters at the most. And yes, you end up with well-known actors in them because he’s a brilliant director and actors want to work with him. Star power is not the driving force in Chris’ films. With Oppenheimer, it was more about utilizing actors’ fame to make the movie feel bigger." So, the difficulty became "dealing with actors who usually star in films. Now you’re trying to cast them for less money and juggling the billing."
Despite the fact the cast is full of stars who are household names, they were still pretty spot-on to their real-life counterparts. Here, see how the cast of Oppenheimer compares to the real-life historical figures they play:
Cillian Murphy as Robert Oppenheimer
Murphy takes on the titular character: theoretical physicist J Robert Oppenheimer, the "father of the atomic bomb," who led the Manhattan Project.
Emily Blunt as Katherine "Kitty" Oppenheimer
Kitty, a botanist and biologist, married Oppenheimer in 1940 and moved to Los Alamos with him. Blunt portrays her in Oppenheimer.
Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock
Pugh plays Oppenheimer's former lover Jean Tatlock, a psychiatrist and member of the Communist party. More on the true story of Jean Tatlock here.
Matt Damon as Leslie Richard Groves
Damon takes on the role of Leslie Groves, a United States Army Corps of Engineers officer who directed the Manhattan Project. On the left, the real Groves and Oppenheimer are pictured at the Trinity test site in September 1945.
Robert Downey, Jr. as Lewis Strauss
Downey Jr. plays Lewis Strauss, who chaired the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and was convinced Oppenheimer was a spy—(spoiler alert!) leading to the revoking of the scientist's security clearance.
Tom Conti as Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein, the influential physicist, makes a brief but impactful appearance in Oppenheimer, played by actor Tom Conti.
Kenneth Branagh as Niels Bohr
Branagh portrays Danish physicist Niels Bohr who developed the Bohr model of the atom and won the Nobel Prize in 1922.
David Krumholtz as Isidor Rabi
Isidor Rabi was an American physicist who won the 1944 Nobel Prize, and was a consultant on the Manhattan Project. In Oppenheimer, he's played by Krumholtz.
Josh Hartnett as Ernest Lawrence
Another Nobel Prize-winning physicist (in 1939), Ernest Lawrence invented a particle accelerator. He was friendly with Oppenheimer at Berkley, and in the movie, he's portrayed by Josh Harnett.
Rami Malek as David Hill
David Hill was one of the experimental physicists who worked on the Manhattan Project in Chicago and went on to testify against Strauss. In the film, he's played by Malek.
Jason Clarke as Roger Robb
Roger Robb was a United States circuit judge who served as a special counsel on the AEC during the hearing against Oppenheimer. Clarke portrays him in the film.
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