This week on 60 Minutes, Cillian Murphy talks with Scott Pelley about his approach to acting and his preparation for the lead role of J. Robert Oppenheimer in “Oppenheimer.” After spending six months getting ready both physically and mentally, he says he put all he learned in the back of his mind and acted on instinct.
During a candid interview in Ireland in 2024, Murphy also shared his first reaction after reading the “Oppenheimer” script, why he is known as “the worst dinner companion,” and why it’s too soon to talk about his acting legacy.
“It is possible that this is the first time that David Bowie has been compared to Robert Oppenheimer,” Scott Pelley commented to Cillian Murphy. Murphy says he found similarities between the two men.
Actor Cillian Murphy says it takes time to decompress after playing a character. “For a few weeks, you just don’t know what to do with all this energy and this focus.”
Actor Emily Blunt tells Scott Pelley that in a scene deleted from “Oppenheimer,” she slaps Cillian Murphy.
Eileen Walsh talks about how her decades-long friendship with Cillian Murphy translates to the screen.
Matt Damon says, “Cillian is the worst dinner companion imaginable.” Hear Cillian Murphy’s reaction.
Cillian Murphy says it’s too soon to talk about his acting legacy, adding he’s hungry for more.
Actor Emily Blunt says Cillian Murphy is “my favorite actor I’ve ever worked with,” calling him “the best actor in the world.” Blunt also says of Murphy: “he’s the worst celebrity in the world.”
Cillian Murphy shares with Scott Pelley his parents’ unexpected reaction to learning the actor was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in “Oppenheimer.”
In February 2024, “Oppenheimer” star Cillian Murphy told 60 Minutes that being nominated for an Oscar was “very, very humbling.” He called the award the “pinnacle of achievement in film.”
Will the Oscar nomination go to Cillian Murphy’s head? Back in February of 2024, longtime friend and actor Eileen Walsh said that it wouldn’t change him — that Murphy has his family around him and stands firm in what he believes in.
The videos above were originally published on February 18, 2024 and were edited by Peter M. Berman and Scott Rosann.