Cillian Murphy Calls Oppenheimer Costar Emily Blunt ‘One of the Funniest People’: I Need ‘Levity’ on Set

Cillian Murphy took on a serious role for Oppenheimerbut he might look to actress Emily Blunt to find humor on set.

“She’s also one of the funniest people, and I have a rule that I can’t work if I’m not relaxed on set,” Murphy, 47, recently told The Los Angeles Times Blunt, 40. The couple last summer starred in Christopher Nolan’s J. Robert Oppenheimer biopic. Murphy took on the title character, while Blunt portrayed his wife, Kitty Oppenheimer, in two performances that each earned Golden Globe nominations to kick off the awards season.

“There has to be a bit of levity,” Murphy told the publication of his love of his sets. “A lot of the movies I do are pretty heavy and go to some dark, challenging places, and you have to be relaxed to do that. So I’m not walking around in a state of freaking anxiety.”

“I have to feel relaxed. I can’t be in that dark place all the time,” he added. “I don’t have the stamina for that.”

Yes, Cillian Murphy really learned how to give a physics lecture in Dutch for Oppenheimer

Cillian Murphy and Emily Blunt in ‘Oppenheimer’.

Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures

Much has been made of Murphy’s performance in the Oppenheimer — Blunt previously said the actor “could only eat one almond every day” to lose weight to play Oppenheimer, while his co-star Robert Downey Jr. told PEOPLE that he had “never witnessed a greater sacrifice by a lead actor in my career” during the making of the film.

Despite Murphy’s status as a leading contender for the upcoming awards season, Murphy is in favor times he considers his own performance “delicate and tiny, for the most part.”

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“I knew it would have to be a quiet, small performance, because the themes are j—— huge,” he said elsewhere in the interview. “What’s going on in his heart and mind can’t be painted big, especially when it’s shot on an Imax camera and shown on a f—— 80-foot screen.”

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Emily Blunt and Cillian Murphy in ‘Oppenheimer’.

Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures

Oppenheimer it earned significant praise in the months following its release. In total, the film received eight nominations at the upcoming Golden Globe Awards on January 7; the only film that collected more nominations at that award ceremony is Barbie. At the upcoming Critics Choice Awards, Oppenheimer received a total of 13 nominations — including acting nominations for both Murphy and Blunt.

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Source: HIS Education