Cillian Murphy on OPPENHEIMER, Christopher Nolan, Batman, & PEAKY BLINDERS I Happy Sad Confused

the following conversation was recorded prior to the actor's strike it has to feel a little dangerous I think you have to feel certainly at the beginning I don't know if I can do this and then you go at it and that drives it that that gives you the hunger and the energy to to go at it prepare your ears humans happy sad confused begins now today I'm happy so confused I'm Josh Horowitz I'm thrilled to say we have a returning Champion to the podcast I'm gonna make him blush but he's one of our finest actors the one and only Killian Murphy and we had a really good occasion to have you back on the podcast because six collaboration with Mr Nolan congratulations man thanks very much um so we kind of did this as your life conversation last time and this this time since it is it is a defining collaboration with Christopher I want to talk a little bit about I want to talk a lot about the film but also about your relationship with him um it started on Batman yeah you were a fan of his work I know prior yeah did the man you met match the guy you had in your head like did you have preconceived notions of what this guy was going to be based on following Memento Etc yeah I'd seen I'd seen Memento and insomnia and then I went back and watched following within that order um I didn't I didn't know he was going to be so English the whole package um but uh you know because he also was an Irish passport as well you should ask him about that English he's a true James Bond you can um I I was you know struck immediately by uh I guess his brain yeah you know it's kind of phenomenal the first time I met him just to give you a bit of context was God it is 20 years ago and I had just done 28 Days Later and it was and it had come out in America and it made a bit of money and it kind of done all right and then Chris had seen it I think and we met in Los Angeles and and we sat down and we just talked about about movies um for a few hours you know it was it wasn't just a brief meeting it was a really really good chat and we really connected I mean he knows way more about movies than I do and he's watched I think he's probably watched every film yeah in the cinema um and uh and we got on you know we had a good laugh and then um he's also really funny you know he's right he's very funny yeah um so so then he he asked me to audition for Batman which I always thought was a kind of an absurd idea I think secretly he did as well he thought I was you know not right for it but we did the test and it was a like full the full production values like we shot on 35 they had the set and everything the way the old school that they don't do anymore yeah it was it was the real deal um you know I I prepared for it and I I would for me it was just just to get to be directed by Christopher Nolan when I was I was a young actor you know sure and uh I love the experience of it right and but I I kind of thought that might be it because you know um I didn't see myself as the character and then as he does always he called me out of the blue and he said look that's not gonna work out for Batman and I thought he's got to be Christian van he said yes that makes complete sense and then he said but there's this other character and that's kind of how it started is playing a character through three movies that is wearing a bag over his head more or less fun than it appears it's just about what I would expect it to to be and I am I think I think it got progressively more bag heavy as the as the trilogy went on it's masochistic he's just like let's really put him to the test yeah I wear I wear a bag in my head an Inception quite a bit as well there's water involved too yeah off the bridge with a bag of my head into the water um he's confusing you with Tom Hardy who likes to have his his face covered he really enjoys it I mean every actor loves a mask I suppose but four movies um I do remember when he called me up for doing correct that was the first question I asked him to feel like Penance uh he's he's finally made he's he's absolved himself of those those wrongs that he's done to you in the past by giving you uh really a a tremendous opportunity and you more than meet the moment in this when you get the call from Christopher that he wants you involved and he wants you to be Oppenheimer in Oppenheimer does that kind of rekindle like those early experiences when you get like a job like oh this is that magical feeling that yeah I'm chasing yeah it's it's one of those you have one of those like very very frequent very special you know moments that you'll never forget in your life and this was definitely one of them um and again he does it in such a way that it's it's quite a shock to your nervous system because it comes out of nowhere right he's not just gonna call you no you know and um you know the script is written he's got it and then he just he just called and said I'd like you to play to play Oppenheimer and uh yeah it's a very strange it puts you into a very strange sort of um you get incredibly excited and Incredibly terrified at the same time I was going to ask about fear because I mean look you've you've been front and center in some major films obviously you've done every kind of movie every budget level but that never goes away that even in the hands of Christopher who's no you know who's going to take care of it yeah I think it would be dangerous if it went away honestly I think if you ever were cruising in your career and felt sort of confident in everything that you did then there would be no Challenge and no excitement and no danger it has to feel a little dangerous I think you have to feel certainly at the beginning I don't know if I can do this and then you go at it and that drives it that that gives you the hunger and the energy to to go at it yeah and um we had a long prep period like he he came to Ireland to give me the script and September 21 I think it was and then we didn't shoot till the end of February 22 so it was six months in effect of me prepping and going over to LA and doing camera tests and makeup tests right costume tests and then working very closely with Chris on the the kind of development of the character so I had a long period so so the sort of Terror sort of sort of morphs into like just focus right then you get this really Crystal focus on what you have to do and then yeah I mean the fact that it's Christopher Nolan the fact that we have this history together gives you an awful lot of confidence and the chances are going to be on the first Christopher Nolan movie that he just swings and misses out it's very unlikely very very unlikely yeah I mean he specializes in protagonists that are conflicted clearly I mean and and there is no greater conflict than what Robert Oppenheimer faced facing the moral quandary of moral quandaries um Rich material to say the least for an actor um I mean how do you try and this is a massive undertaking in every way I mean the scale is huge and yet it is like all his films very intimate too you are we are close to your face we are in your in your head for much of this um was it tough to kind of track the the progress the back and forth I mean were you shooting in sequence what were the challenges once you get into production of of keeping your eye on the ball of who this man was um well the first thing to point out was that the script was written in the first person right so I knew very quickly that it was going to be subjectively told through oppenheimer's eyes and everything in the color uh segments of the film which are the kind of majority of the film are seen through oppenheimer's eyes right and then the black white segments are through obviously uh straws is a point of view um so I knew that uh we were the audience would have to be with Oppenheimer all the time yeah we were very clear about that and it wouldn't be about judging him we would have been being right beside him while he was experiencing these incredible events and having to make these uh you know um life-changing kind of decisions you know for himself and for the world and all of that and in terms of going at it um you mean on set in terms of after the prep well I'm curious because like I mean for instance or the IMAX camera's still huge I don't know if he's been able to show enormous so and a lot of it is as I say like on you on your face yeah and talk about Focus you're not focusing before this must call upon all your faculties to kind of like really laser focus and be in the moment yeah this giant apparatus like very close yes you do get used to the to the IMAX cameras after a while you know yeah it does um and the way Chris always shoots it it's you know it's him and hoyta right and you know the boom up and it's that's it there's it's it's always one camera um and there was no steady cameras no cranes they were very old school in this they wanted to go get rid of all the toys for this one and go right back to basics that's a decision they made aesthetically himself and hoyta from the beginning so I suppose what I'm trying to say is that it the the sad environment the working environment being on the floor never felt overwhelming it felt very kind of safe and that's what Chris that's the sort of atmosphere that he uh once for his actors is is you know um you can you can experiment it's a it's a laboratory you know you can try things and make a fool yourself and that's okay um so um that's I've always felt that with Chris you know I've always felt incredibly safe working with them uh and trying and trying stuff out and he's an incredibly collaborative uh director and particularly when it's come from his he's not just like a director it's like he feels these in his bones yeah I mean and you know he he kind of is it's almost like he's engineered the script in his head already right you know he knows frame by frame shop by shot how this thing is gonna is gonna end up and when you sh when you shoot Chris Nolan's script that is what you see on screen but it can't approx you you can imagine it but I would imagine I was gonna ask you you've seen the finished film but I have yeah so you've had the experience on set and it was occurring to me when I was prepping to talk to you like for instance I think about like the final scene between you and Pete passed away and oh yeah Inception which on set between the two of you must feel very intimate again yeah almost no dialogue if there's any dialogue yeah and then what he's able to achieve through the marriage of intercutting music Tom in the background it becomes it just it takes on a whole nother level and similarly here do you have that kind of feeling like oh I made one movie but what the finished product is is is just almost an exponentially different movie no it's almost it's always way better than you could ever possibly imagine but I just have um complete and utter trust in his vision yeah you know uh um I always have done from the very from the very beginning he's so accomplished and he understands every single facet of the movie making business you know um and on set he understands every single person's job he he's over every single detail of costuming of of uh you know set design of locations of everything so um you feel completely confident in our inception for example was such a complicated such a complicated script and you know you'd oftentimes be you know asking Chris now what level of Consciousness are we at or who whose brain who's dreaming but you know but he just knows of course of course he doesn't so it's it's a it's a real luxury for an actor to feel that secure in the director's vision and genius I don't know about you but I've lost track about how much I am spending each month on subscriptions do you even know how much your subscriptions are costing you that's where rocket money our sponsor on Happy second fused comes into play most Americans think they spend around 80 bucks a month on subscriptions but the actual total is closer to 200 if you don't know exactly how much you're spending every month that's why you need rocket money rocket money is a personal finance app that finds and cancels your unwanted subscriptions monitors your spending and helps you lower your bills all in one place stop throwing your money away guys I've been spending way too much on things I don't need and Rocket money has been helping me manage it all you can cancel unwanted subscriptions and manage your expenses the easy way by going to rocketmoney.com HSC that's rocketmoney.com HSC rocketmoney.com HSC [Music] the cast is I don't even know what adjective to use about the Cassidy The Ensemble was remarkable it reminded me like growing up like back in the Haiti of like alberstone movies like JFK and Nixon every bit part was by like movie stars but great actors yeah and some and it can somehow work and it works here um I don't know I I don't even know how to pick a favorites or anything but like for instance Downey when you see Downey in this context is just I love him as Iron Man but to see him like really yeah choose something a little different must have been a treat to like a vanity to really go he is remarkable in this film like remarkable and working with him I mean I kind of liken it to playing music you know I used to play a lot of music and sometimes when you're playing with another player as this kind of non-verbal connection you know and it's it feels like jazz you know and yeah and that's what it felt like with with um madoni and me sometimes it just felt he's the most generous uh invested scene partner you could you could possibly have and of course like he can extemporize or improvise like like that and and um they were among my favorite scenes I have to say say working with him he's just kind of he's Electric in the movie you know speaking of electric actors one of the films your collaborations with Christopher that we didn't mention was um was Dunkirk and Eric yogan um who's just killing it did you take a special delight I mean he's part of the extended Batman family did you see what he did with I did of course yeah I did of course he was amazing and I can't wait to see him like get some more yeah get a bit more screen time they're doing it again right yeah yeah but I hope he is oh he's phenomenal Barry you know and he's just proven his kind of range and versatility yeah and he's still such a gorgeous kid he's probably not a kid now he's a father now in fact so yeah I haven't seen him in a while but so proud of banshees and you know what they achieved with that movie so yeah he's a great great actor uh I remain convinced that Christopher will be directing a Bond film and I and I'm I'm more firmly I I'm gonna see him later I'm gonna place a bet with him I think he's gonna do the next one I feel like it's okay doesn't it feel like it's the right moment Killian there they need a new bomb they need a new director I'm not gonna speak for Christopher no I just as a fan what do you want to see Christopher Nolan movie or no I I I I would of course I'd go and see the crystal on the Bond movie I flow he's on a journey with his own material no I don't want to start to see him do a director for higher things yeah but that's that feels so part of him too in a way yeah yeah I mean he's a huge Bond fan he loves the movies and I think I think you can see sort of there's I think there's parts of every movie you see that's a little bit bond isn't it you know um not consciously but I think you can kind of see them particularly in an Inception you can see that on a match you can see the service he's talking yeah and 10 as you can see the video as well um but I don't know I don't know you listen ask him okay I'll be interested to see it do you want me a good word not that you need my help what do you want to play in Christopher Nolan's Bond movie I I I I'm not James Bond man that's that's yeah I'm that ship has hail shall we say yeah it could be anything he could be Q you could be M you could be the bad guy uh let's see where Chris comes up with okay okay fair enough fair enough um some uh other bits and Bobs the last time we spoke was I believe it was season five of peaky had just come out uh does it feel like peaky is in the rear view now like have you kind of like separated yourself like from Tommy and that experience or is it too soon to say that um that's a good question because I I often thought I wouldn't be able to like really give a perspective on it until a few years have passed and they have a few years have passed now um it was 10 years of my life playing that character you know I I think the show succeeded uh because the writing was so phenomenal yeah um I mean if there's a movie there uh and if there's more story to tell right I'll definitely have the conversation but um I think we ended really really really well in the on the TV version of it I'm very proud of that the show the show never plateaued in my opinion totally you know I think um each each series was kind of richer than the than the last and uh so I'm very proud of that we achieved that and I love I'm also very proud of that people are still discovering it that's the kind of beauty of of streamings and that people kind of Discover it all the time there's new fans turning up all the time so so another cool thing the cool kids like peaky like the ones who taste let's be honest like you know yes yeah it's got a great soundtrack which I'm very proud of so I don't know so are you of the mind though like because there have been different roles that obviously we talked about Jonathan crane scarecrow that you were prized like is it as an actor is it easier to say goodbye definitively to a role or to always kind of have that door open you know we've talked before 28 Days Later keeps coming up yeah always come up until Alex and Danny and you say no more yeah um like for instance is that door still a jar oh it's certainly for me I mean I again like I'd love to do I think it would have to be 28 years later at this stage really because yeah I think realistically because that movie God when did that 2000 happen right yeah so oh wow yeah we're not so far no we're not that far off um I mean I'd love to uh but that's not an exclusive or anything I think oh no you know there needs to be a script and Danny needs to find the time and Alex needs to feel that there's more story to tell and but I I again that that is a movie I watch with my kids not too long ago and I feel that one you know it it's uh it's aged well or not and not aged at all whatever the correct expression is yeah I was going to ask about your kids appreciation of your work because I've had this conversation with many actors and usually it's like they're the last people to appreciate yeah parents work are they so they they can appreciate they can it would be it would be tragic if they were the only kids that can enjoy Christopher Nolan's Batman for us for instance yeah they're getting a bit older now they're very sophisticated taste uh so that you know they don't go searching for my films but if one turns up or they love like quiet place too for example they they love that movie um but I think it's much healthier if your kids are underwhelmed by what you do no matter what it is I think that's you know that's a healthy Dynamic too much hero worship is a little yeah it doesn't matter yeah you don't need that so you don't have to worry about that I definitely don't have to worry about that yeah in your career have you ever felt a period of time where you felt like boxed in Typecast like you were in a rut that you were questioning where the crew was going to go or has it felt like you know if there was a week that went by something was around the corner um you know I feel I've been lucky in that I've moved always between theater and television and movies so if one Avenue got a little clogged at one point I could just jump into another Avenue and right I probably have done that in the past you know um and I think I've always felt that if anyone would say to any artist we love that can you do it again right which is you know that happens not not just in our business but it happens you know if any if any time there's a potential to something being commodified or being repeated I think the artist or the creative person in the other direction and yeah anything else yeah so but luckily I would always jump from one to the other so I've never I've never felt that way and recollaborating with people is always really good for your creative Soul like yeah like Chris calling me up or I I work a lot with Ender Walsh this this playwright and and we've made four plays we've just made a film together you know working with Danny a couple of times I find that that keeps it rich yeah and and um um so I've been lucky that way so and speaking of that kind of like running in a different direction like I my sense from you is you're not one that kind of engages you're not online you're not like you know checking the the memes that we're gonna um involving you but like for instance I see a lot of fan art of you as like Doctor Doom right like have you done your comic book villain thing does that hold any interest or like would you each character is different you know Dr Doom is different than scarecrows the script and the person's there and I'm sure we can talk yeah I think you've answered the question yeah yeah I mean I'm always it's always about the script yeah so I'll read you know if someone sounds script I'll I'll read it but um and you you never know what what turns up that's what I love about this business you know I know I know inclination or no idea that that Chris was going to call me 21 with this you know it just it just happens and that's that's the kind of the beauty of this business it's so unpredictable and wild and you don't know what's going to turn up um this part of you wish you could have given you the heads up like he was working on this for a long this is nothing you dash off in a week I think he relished that phone call like that is holding like I know but he's a master of that but I think he he he relished being able to call the column because I I think he knew how much I really wanted to yeah to play a lead for him you know I really think he knew that yeah you did do some theater here in in New York yeah right before the pen relatively right before the pendant 2018. that's right yeah um is there are you the type of actor that keeps a list of like theatrical roles in particular classic roles like is are you itching to go back to Stage or is it sort of when again the right opportunity to come I would love to go back to the stage weirdly I I I've I I prefer new writing in in theater uh I've often felt that you know there's been so many extraordinary actors and actresses playing those in classic classic roles that I don't know what I could possibly add to it so I like breaking ground with new writing that's always been the thing that's excited me in in theater or certainly more recently um but again it's about timing and it's about the right the right material you know what do you watch television wise are you uh uh I love succession I mean everyone in the world loves succession right yeah um haven't finished the final season so don't tell me exactly uh I think it's magnificent some of the best some of the best writing that out there at the end and the performance is just mind-blowingly good yeah does that I mean my sense from you is you still get inspired by like it it gives you a boost to see like the barrachiogens and the next oh for sure you know you get tingles when you see great acting you know like no matter where you see like if it's above a pub in in in in in North London and you go and you see a play and there's a phenomenal performance and if that gives me tingles you know just just to see it uh uh so yeah I'm always looking for Great Performances wherever they might come from you know um I'm gonna end with uh our profoundly random questionnaire uh one question for you Killeen is do you collect anything uh vinyl yeah Christopher probably appreciates that I feel like that he probably does there's like a gramophone yeah have you ever asked for an autograph from a from an actor um so I asked directors to sign my to sign my script and I and I keep them I only recently started to do that um um but uh yeah I that's that's really the only I much prefer autographs to to selfies not a selfie fan yeah that's that's hard um yeah is there like an actor that you grew up with like that that you are now consider a peer that it it it it makes you giggle in a way as a school boy to see them like pop up on your phone you get a text from like I don't know Gary Oldman like how does Gary Oldman how am I an acquaintance of Gary Oldman that kind of a thing well Matt Damon you know I I've admired his work since I was even before I was an actor and not only his work but also I admire his values as a human being uh and and so we got to work on Oppenheimer and now his company AE have just produced a movie I noticed that yeah that I produced and and uh enacted in which was written by Andrew Walsh so right that feel that's kind of a lovely lovely feeling um and I really really um admire the sort of value of their of their Studio you know of AE because it's artist-led yes which I think is really exciting for the industry that is one of the I mean you kind of alluded this before one of the rewards of sticking around I feel the same way on my side of things yeah like establish relationships and to kind of see track be along for the ride with people and to revisit people at different times in their lives and there's the shorthand but also just to really connect on a personal level at different times in their lives yeah uh yeah I agree you know um what's the wallpaper on your phone Killian oh I got recently I just gone totally minimalist black like took took everything off yeah it's like it's just even all of the um apps yeah uh they're all just black so it's none of that stupid childish you like Apple phone color thing it's just black wow your darker you're like a nihilist what precipitated this rough day no it's just no it's it's kind of it's not less nihilism more minimalism cutting out the noise yeah so yeah and I'd turn off an awful lot of notifications so it's just it's just a black blob I love it yeah it's the last actor you were mistaken for eign yeah well he's a lot better at baseball but you're a bit better relaxing probably well we've all got our skills is there a movie you're embarrassed to say you've never seen ah gone with the window I don't think I've ever seen Gone With the Wind okay um thanks I absolve you you've made up for it thank you what's the worst note a director has ever given you a director once asked me am I a good director so I mean that's the end of the relationship then they're looking for validation from the the actor this goes the other way buddy yeah weird and easy ones didn't they teach you anything at directors yeah you need to make me feel good about myself all day long and bring me things like tea in the spirit of happy second fused it was an actor that makes you happy who's an actor that makes just let you see them on screen oh God right now I would have to say Jesse Buckley yeah I think she's phenomenal see her in Cabaret did you get a chance to see no did not see that show I would love to say it remarkable a movie that makes you sad oh god um movie that makes me sad sad like sad sad or like just tear like emotional yeah um like there is one that recently did that to me all right I can't remember I remember seeing Interstellar since we're sure it's a crystal and a junket since uh I remember seeing Interstellar in the cinema on my own yeah and having little kids and it was yeah I was I was that was very emotional that made me cry yeah that connection between him and Chastain and about exchange and missing older kids childhood like that was that was powerful and a food that makes you confused most important question like food makes me confused oh man you guys are crazy what's up with that I I don't what's the what's the Japanese food where they they fry everything like do they fry the tempura yeah no I'm not a fan of that anything fried deep fried that's an American thing right now we're disgusting that way I apologize it's in my bones and my DNA not an attempt for a guy well you're gonna live a lot longer than me um anything I should put a good word in with I'm gonna try to get you a bond roll uh what's what's the genre he should take on next what's the what's the kind of film Christopher Nolan should do there's no comedy in him does he have um musical he is he is very funny um uh musical I mean like the score for Apple number I mean it's just out of this world yeah um I don't know if he has musical in him don't know the answers to that I'll get back to you on his answers we'll compare him okay let me know um truly man this this is a remarkable piece of work and you hold it all together uh I hope you can appreciate that and enjoy it as an audience member now and separate yourself for a little bit because it is it's a special one oh thanks so much all right good to see you as always thanks man thanks for the time and so ends another edition of happy sad confused remember to review write and subscribe to this show on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts I'm a big podcast person I'm Daisy Ridley and I definitely wasn't pressured to do this by Josh thank you foreign

Channel: Josh Horowitz

Views: 362,825

Keywords: josh horowitz, happy sad confused, interview

Id: sB-JhaVzZ7I

Length: 31min 58sec (1918 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 27 2023

Reddit Comments

[u/StreetTradition4986]

Bob Iger finding out that the IP alone isn’t enough

https://i.redd.it/39v1gmnzcveb1.gif

[u/VicepresidenteJr]

Fuck...

[u/Educational-Band8308]

Damn, this is even funnier considering the rumor is Driver dropped out because of the script.

[u/PotatoBulletGun]

Well, I guess it'll not happen 😂

[u/ghostfeather69]

So, ig we can rule him out then.

[u/santanac_117]

“It’s always about the script” : that’s how you say no in Murphy

[u/TrevReigns]

I guess he's not Doom

[u/lmao_okaybuddy]

he’s too good for the MCU

[u/peanutdakidnappa]

Somebody actually write a good script and give it to this man lol, he’s so good having him as one of the most iconic villains of all time would be glorious.