Who Does Matt Damon Play In Oppenheimer?

With each subsequent film, Christopher Nolan continues to prove that no project is too huge and no subject matter is too heavy. The ambitious director has done interstellar space and time travel, so the next obvious step is a film about the man who irreparably changed the course of history forever. "Oppenheimer" is packed to the gills with Nolan's favorite actors in parts large and small. Cillian Murphy returns to the Nolan extended universe as the titular character following his work in the "Dark Knight" trilogy and "Inception." Nolan's new film will also feature the return of Matt Damon to the Nolan stage.

Damon's tenure in the Nolan universe is not as prolific as others before him, but significant nonetheless. The "Martian" actor appears briefly in "Interstellar" as Mann, the astronaut prepared to ruin everything for Cooper (Matthew McConaughey). He pops up in a similarly important respect in "Oppenheimer," appearing prominently in the star-studded second trailer as General Leslie Groves, the figure heading up the Manhattan Project. While J. Robert Oppenheimer may have been the brains behind the atomic bomb, Groves was the one who cultivated the arena to make it happen.

Everyone remembers J. Robert Oppenheimer and his famous quote taken from the Hindu scripture the Bhagavad Gita: "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." In fact, his role in the creation of the atomic bomb had ramifications that we are still feeling today. But Leslie Groves was instrumental as well. Groves, who was more than committed to the project, insisted that Manhattan Project scientists work only on the development of the atomic bomb, ignoring other applications of their research. It undoubtedly created the desired outcome, but his temperament also did not go unnoticed. Because of his role in the military and the pressure to beat the Nazis in World War II, those who worked closest to him had an interesting perspective on him.

Groves' personal aide, Colonel Nichols, described him as "the biggest S.O.B. I have ever worked for. He is most demanding. He is most critical. He is always a driver, never a praiser. He is abrasive and sarcastic." Although this is in direct contrast to Oppenheimer's more gentle nature, it can be argued that both were required to work hand in hand to produce results — Groves' personality left a lot to be desired, but Nichols stated that he would follow him again because of how competent he was