Cillian Murphy mentioned that the Bhagavad Gita was included in his preparations for Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film, Oppenheimer.
Murphy portrays J. Robert Oppenheimer, a prominent theoretical physicist who was a vital factor in the development of the atomic bomb.
During the aftermath of the successful testing of the world’s first atomic bomb in 1945, Oppenheimer famously quoted a line from the Gita, stating, “Now I have become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” As a student of Sanskrit, he found solace in the sacred text.
In an interview with Sucharita Tyagi, Cillian Murphy was asked about Oppenheimer’s connection to the Bhagavad Gita, and the actor acknowledged being influenced by it as well. He shared, “I did read the Bhagavad Gita in preparation, and I thought it was an absolutely beautiful text, very inspiring. I think it was a consolation to him, he kind of needed it and it provided him a lot of consolation, all his life.”
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When pressed for his personal takeaways from the Gita, Murphy humorously replied, “Well don’t grill me on it!” He then added, “I just found it very beautiful.”
Oppenheimer, a historical drama starring Robert Downey Jr., Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, and Florence Pugh, is based on Kai Bird and the late Martin J Sherwin’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J Robert Oppenheimer.
Oppenheimer, which is set to hit theatres on July 21, will compete with Greta Gerwig’s picture Barbie. Following its premiere in Paris, the film got overwhelmingly positive reviews, with many hailing it as one of Nolan’s finest works to date.
