Oppenheimer: What Inspired Christopher Nolan's Film & How Did Robert Pattinson Help?

While some films take their inspiration from fictional sources, "Oppenheimer," naturally, is based on the true story of J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), father of the nuclear bomb. This version of Oppenheimer's morally-complicated career takes its cues from the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography "American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer," written by Martin J. Sherwin and Kai Bird, which served as the basis for the film's script. But it turns out that the idea to fictionalize Oppenheimer's life occurred to director Christopher Nolan thanks to actor Robert Pattinson. 

Speaking to The Playlist in July 2023, Nolan described becoming more and more interested in the subject while working on his 2020 film "Tenet." Then one of his stars presented him with a memorable gift when the movie completed shooting. "Rob Pattinson, who's in 'Tenet,' gave me a book of Oppenheimer speeches as a wrap gift on 'Tenet.' And in reading those speeches from the 1950s where you see the scientists trying to deal with the consequences, the terrifying consequences, of what they've done, that sort of took me further down the path," Nolan shared.

Nolan further explained that he later came across "American Prometheus," which further solidified his idea for the film.

Christopher Nolan's awareness of J. Robert Oppenheimer stems all the way back to his youth, per his interview with The Playlist. There, he admits that hearing the song  "Russians" by Sting made him aware of the Cold War and Oppenheimer's impact on nuclear relations between world powers. "[Sting] referenced 'Oppenheimer's deadly toy.' It was something very much in all our minds and really infected me like so many people with a fear of nuclear Armageddon at that time," Nolan said, quoting Sting's lyrics to the tune.

But while all of these people managed to influence Nolan toward picking up, he says that while writing his scripts he doesn't imagine any one actor or any one performance while typing out each line. "I try to be disciplined and not write with actors in mind because if you're writing with an actor in mind, you're writing about something they've already done and you're never going to challenge them," admitted Nolan. 

By the time he finished his script, though, he knew who to call. "When we finished, and there on my desk is this copy of 'American Prometheus' I've been staring at for months and months and months with this face looking up with this intense blue-eyed stern. And you sort of look at it and you think, 'I know who can do that. I know who can be that person,'" he said. 

That line of thinking lead him to Cillian Murphy. And his performance — among many other things — will stun audiences watching "Oppenheimer" when it opens on July 21.