Oppenheimer's Albert Einstein Actor Tom Conti Absolutely Hated Two Things About His Role
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In Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer," Albert Einstein (Tom Conti) only briefly appears. The famous scientist shares a few scenes with Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) himself, but these interactions are pivotal to the Manhattan Project, and the haunting realization about the world's future towards the end. There seems to be a misunderstanding regarding the involvement of the real Einstein in the creation of the atomic bomb — while the scientist's popular E = mc^2 equation does explain the theoretical nitty-gritty of the massive energy released by an atomic bomb, it does not provide any instructions for actually building one. Einstein was, in fact, denied security clearance to be involved with the Manhattan Project, and did not have a close relationship with Oppenheimer until the last decade of his life.
Nolan took some creative liberties to drive the film's dramatic nexus toward interesting directions, and these little scenes between Oppenheimer and Einstein are a good example of that. In Jada Yuan's "Unleashing Oppenheimer: Inside Christopher Nolan's Explosive Atomic-Age Thriller," casting director John Papsidera talked about the process of casting Einstein, "an important role" and "such a touchstone" when it came to telling Oppenheimer's story. Nolan eventually settled on theatre/television actor Conti, who had previously appeared in "The Dark Knight Rises," where he played the prisoner who urged Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne to escape from The Pit. Nolan praised Conti and the reason why he was chosen to play the famous scientist:
"He's a really wonderful actor who also bears a pretty uncanny resemblance to Einstein in later years. And I think that what Tom shares as a performer with the old Einstein is this very avuncular quality. This is a man who understands everything, but has a very, very positive and reassuring aspect to his demeanor, which I don't think Oppenheimer shared."
Small sacrifices
Per Papsidera's account in "Unleashing Oppenheimer," Nolan was delighted when he learned that Conti was "already growing a mustache and his hair out" for the sake of the role right after he was cast, but the actor himself was not too happy about these aesthetic developments required for the character:
"That was the worst part about this whole thing because I hate hair that long and can't stand having a mustache. I mean, you can't eat soup, spaghetti, anything like that. Life is greatly diminished with this hirsute appearance."
While Conti was less than enthusiastic about growing out his hair, he was extremely dedicated to bringing the role to life in convincing ways. After watching countless videos of the real-life scientist to get a better handle on his German accent, Conti understood that it was essential to convey the nuances of the character's evolving relationship with Oppenheimer. In reality, the two men were only cordial towards one another because they shared similar fields, and collaborated for information exchange despite being immensely competitive. However, mutual respect formed the foundation of this bond, which Conti conveyed subtly in the scenes he shared with the theoretical physicist.
Yuan's book also states that while Conti was shooting on location in Princeton, looking the part (replete with frizzy hair and bushy eyebrows), many people did "a double take" after seeing him. While Conti had to deal with the aesthetic pains of growing out his hair and donning prosthetics, he was a natural for the role, just as Nolan had hoped for and anticipated.