Oppenheimer Was Filmed Around Cillian Murphy's Haircut
Though they've collaborated on five previous movies, Cillian Murphy was always desperate to play the lead in a Christopher Nolan movie. So, when he got the call to play J. Robert Oppenheimer in Nolan's adaptation of Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin's biography, "American Prometheus," he had to, in his own words, "sit down" because "it was kind of overwhelming."
It had to be overwhelming; not just because Murphy had been waiting so long to lead a Nolan film, but because of the epic nature of the story being told. Portraying the creator of the atomic bomb — a man who you could easily argue is one of, if not the most important figure of the 20th Century — must have been a vertiginous prospect, especially considering the truly dramatic journey Oppenheimer went on to create and then come to terms with the effects of his invention. Then there was the fact that Murphy was to be flanked by surely one of the greatest ensembles of the last decade or so, with Emily Blunt costarring as Oppenheimer's wife alongside Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., and Florence Pugh, among numerous other esteemed performers.
So, it's not difficult to see why Murphy felt compelled to sit down after being offered the role. Thankfully, by all accounts he did an outstanding job when it came down to it. In our "Oppenheimer" review, /Film's Chris Evangelista wrote that "Murphy stuns in the role." And if that's not enough to convince you, take Downey Jr.'s word for it when he said the "Peaky Blinders" star delivered "a generation-defining performance." But what Nolan could never have foreseen, back when he placed that initial phone call to his future star, was that Murphy's haircut would become such a significant part of telling Oppenheimer's story.
'I'm very allergic to wigs'
Christopher Nolan believes that J. Robert Oppenheimer was the most important person who ever lived. When questioned by the New York Times on that statement, he said, "Do I genuinely believe it? Absolutely. Because if my worst fears are true, he'll be the man who destroyed the world. Who's more important than that?" Which is a pretty grim way to start an interview, even if it is a disturbingly compelling statement. Thankfully, the director didn't remain quite as foreboding throughout his talk with the outlet.
At one point, Nolan got on the topic of Cillian Murphy — specifically his haircut, which it turns out was more of a concern than anyone would have thought. Nolan is known for his insistence on using practical effects as much as possible, and for trying to capture as much of his movies "in-camera" as he can. It's the reason we saw a literal semi-truck flipped upside down in "The Dark Knight" and why we saw a real 747 plane crash in "Tenet." But that fastidiousness when it comes to practical effects apparently extends all the way down to actors' hairstyles.
As Nolan went on to tell the NYT, "I did insist on scheduling [shooting] around Cillian's haircut. Because I'm very allergic to wigs in movies. I really wanted the film to not have any obvious artifice when it came to the way characters presented themselves." Rallying against "obvious artifice" is a good way to describe Nolan's filmography in general, and it's interesting to see just how far that insistence on keeping things as real as possible extends.
The anti-wig movement
While it might seem slightly disruptive and inefficient to have to schedule a production on the scale of "Oppenheimer" around the star's haircut, it seems Christopher Nolan has a partner in his crusade against the use of wigs. Back in 2019, Cillian Murphy spoke to Vulture about his role as Tommy Shelby in Netflix's "Peaky Blinders," and revealed this little tidbit about his aversion to wig-wearing: "I don't generally do wigs. I think they look phony. If I see that a character has to wear a wig, I generally won't do the part." It's hard to imagine that Murphy would have turned down "Oppenheimer" if Nolan had wanted to use hairpieces throughout the production. But either way, it seems the two were of one mind on that particular topic.
While it might seem like an inconsequential thing to be worried about, there's no doubt even the slightest hint of inauthenticity can take you out of a film. For all the stunning CGI work we've seen in recent decades, for some reason hair pieces can still often look, well, dodgy to be honest. And with as serious and sobering a story as that of J. Robert Oppenheimer's, the last thing you want is to be studying the imperfections of Cillian Murphy's hairline while his character grapples with the world-shattering consequences of his scientific endeavors. Anyway, Nolan had bigger things to worry about, such as trying to recreate a nuclear explosion without the use of CGI.
With that in mind, we should celebrate the anti-wig movement for what it represents — the struggle against taking audiences out of a movie when there's no reason for it.