Yeah, Irish people
can't take praise. [LAUGHTER]
MATT DAMON: Let it in. I know. He just turned to dust, if
you're wondering where he went. [LAUGHS] [MUSIC PLAYING] We're in a race
against the Nazis. And I know what it means
if the Nazis have a bomb. How compelled did you feel
to try to go deep on the world of quantum physics? Did you try to understand
it at any level? - Cillian?
- I'll start with you. - Me?
- Yeah. [LAUGHS] I figured
out pretty quickly that it would have
been a waste of time to try to understand
anything significantly about quantum mechanics. Seriously though, my job was to
kind of go after the humanity of the character. And, frankly, there's probably
like a tiny percentage of people on the planet
who can have a proper grasp of that level of physics. Chris being one of them. CILLIAN MURPHY: Chris
being one of them. Yeah. I did speak to Kip
Thorne, who was this advisor on the
film, who was also the advisor on Interstellar. Yeah. And he's great at kind
of breaking it down. So I had a kind of, you
know, vague conceptual grasp of what was going on. But these guys are
operating on a completely, completely different level. If we could understand
the science to that level, that's what we would be
doing with our lives. Yeah. Like, it really is
about trying to get across the
interpersonal dynamics between these characters,
the-- you know, what Oppenheimer
must have lived with. That's what-- Chris, when he
came to us with the movie, you know, the supporting
players, it was very clear. The script was written
in the first person. It was very much
Oppenheimer's experience. It was through his eyes. And he was like, this movie
is going to be entirely riding on the back of that
performance and what this person lived with. And I need actors
in support of that. And so, that was really our job. So I-- we all had
different dynamics with the Oppenheimer character. So we looked at those. For me, it was from the military
side, and Groves, my character, ran the Manhattan
Project and hired him as the scientific director. So they had this kind
of natural tension because they looked at the
world in a different way. But it was really all about
how our characters affected him and added to this kind of
burden that he had and kind of haunted him through his life. - Fascinating that you all
believe that Christopher Nolan understood all of the science. Working with him,
did you see him more as the scientist or the artist? Like, his films often
work right in that fertile territory of dreams and
technology, science and art. - And engineering.
- And engineering, of course. Yeah.
- You know what I mean? You need to balance all those
things as a filmmaker, right? That's how I see him or,
like, Jim Cameron, or those-- I've never worked with
Cameron, but like, just from looking at his
movies, like, they have that bit of engineer in them. Like, when you look
at Chris's, like, the hallway fight in Inception. And you realize-- he
realized, oh, well if we build the hallway and then hang
it, and then put them on wires, then we can turn it and we
can make them-- you know? He always has some kind
of engineering idea. And he's always
pushing the tech. Like on this, they invented
black and white IMAX film. - Oh, right.
- Right? Just for the movie, right? Like, nobody's ever
thought to do that. And so, I think he's,
like, equal part artist and engineer maybe. His breadth of abilities
are just so vast. And you feel that. You know? I feel like there must
have been a hurricane going on inside of him
during this process, none of which you see. It's just encased in
this very calm exterior. And you're kind of
kept from the chaos of what it must have been like
to create a film like this. But I think he's in
equal measures just incredibly curious about
the artistic pursuit that actors go through. And he wants to see what
you're going to bring. You just feel every day
he was like, what else? What else?
Show me. Show me.
Show me. It's just sort of
wonderfully freeing, you know, to work with someone
like that, who is as invested in what you can bring as
he is in the engineering and the structure of the film. So, I mean, I just think
there's no one who can do that. Like, he's so
groundbreaking in that way. Yeah, I mean, like a
David Lean, or a Hitchcock, there's this mystique. And I knew that Murphy
was on the inside because he was
kind of, you know, they're all thick as thieves. And I think, for Emily--
and I'll speak for myself-- it was this real kind
of intimidation factor. Yeah. And then, once you're
there and doing it, arguably one of the least
judgmental directors I've ever experienced. True. So it's not about control. It's about precision. And so, it really kind of
created a whole new neural pathway in my mind
of how I've related to that projection of director. EMILY BLUNT: Yeah. Because it's always
the status thing. Yes.
Yes. Yeah. I think that's the
weirdest thing about-- weird, or I don't
know, if unique maybe, most unique thing,
is that, like, he's got this incredible
ambitious vision. And yet, he doesn't
visit any of that on you. You have total creative freedom. And he's genuinely interested,
like Em was saying, in what you're going to do. And so it's like, he gets
the best out of everybody he's collaborating
with and somehow bakes that into his vision. And all the boats kind
of rise, rather than-- - That's the engineering.
- Yeah. Not a weird thing. It's almost like an
engineering of the humans because all the rest
of the stuff, trust me, you will never be on a set
that is more dialed in. [LAUGHS]
- Right. Where the only thing
that could go wrong is us. Right.
[LAUGHTER] Which is weird because
usually everything else is chaotic and we're--
[LAUGHTER] --you know, the calm in
the eye of the storm. Now hold on now,
let's get this master. Right.
[LAUGHTER] But as an actor with an
improvisational background, is that something that
you could bring to this? Is that something that
he looks for as well? Sure. HOST: That he's looking to
find something that's not-- He's not looking for
it or not looking for it. He did say, Robert,
you seem to be doing a lot of improv out there. I-- if you get scared
out there, just float gently back to the text. [LAUGHTER] And it was like-- it
wasn't a Jedi mind trick. MATT DAMON: No, no, no. He wasn't guffing me. Again, he's kind of like
a dad that you can't have a beef with
'cause he's actually just a really good parent. Yeah. Yeah. That was the
most disconcerting of all the energies
'cause I'd had no previous experience with that. [LAUGHTER] EMILY BLUNT: You love
having beef with dad. Well, now I have
to ask, did you get scared out there at any point?
Was there something that-- Never.
I was having a ball. HOST: You and Christopher
Nolan are thick as thieves. But it took six films
and twenty years for him to give
you a leading role. Yeah.
[LAUGHS] Is that something that you
feel you're in the long run for? I mean, this process
went pretty well. [LAUGHTER] - With these guys?
- Yeah. Yeah.
Are you? Are you?
- Oh, us? No.
HOST: Are you in it for-- only four more years--
four more films for you. Well, he gave me a small
part on Interstellar. Then he put me on ice
for a couple of movies. Yeah.
[LAUGHTER] So I don't know. Well, he put you
on ice before you were in Interstellar as well.
MATT DAMON: That's true. So I don't know. I'm very confused
about my status, but. HOST: Yeah.
[LAUGHTER] I'm available. Yeah. [LAUGHTER] - Matt, don't be too desperate.
- Oh, sorry, sorry. I think the thing
is with Chris though-- I'm not available.
[LAUGHTER] When Chris calls, I think, any
actor would go, yeah, I'm in. - Whatever you want.
- Of course. Whatever you want,
whatever size the part. - Whatever you want.
- We're like-- But like he was saying,
Chris himself said, he doesn't write with actors in mind.
- Yes. Because he goes, if I
write with an actor in mind, then I'm already
limiting what the movie can be because I'm
thinking of something they've already done, so. Right. Who knows, you know? But he is adapting a book
that has a striking resemblance to you on the cover of it. MATT DAMON: Well, it was
the role of a lifetime. I wonder how soon
into writing it he started thinking
about you, though. MATT DAMON: Yeah. EMILY BLUNT: I
just think there's a part of me that
just feels like, who else can play that part, and-- But it was funny. I think, a lot of us ended up
looking like the characters without--
- Worryingly. [LAUGHS] But, yeah, worryingly,
like the characters. You know?
We kind of ended-- You mean like owners start
looking like their pets? [LAUGHTER]
- Yeah, kind of. [LAUGHS] I mean-- - When I saw that first--
- That was it. The one in the
production office. The blown up picture. The blown up
picture of Cillian. An empty panel board. EMILY BLUNT: Yeah.
Yeah. ROBERT DOWNEY JR: One picture.
MATT DAMON: Yeah. - You.
- I was like, this is it. - With the cigarette.
- Oh, we're done. - Yeah.
- We're done. [LAUGHTER] Except, and again, we're
not on the board yet. [LAUGHTER]
- Yeah. And our pictures
have to go up. So it was this weird
thing of, again, not intimidation of, like,
that self-centered actor ego fear but more like
rising to an occasion. EMILY BLUNT: Yeah. The like, oh, wow, like,
I hate to use the I word, but you're like,
this is important. Yeah. When you're going to show
up for this important thing or not. And, man, I have
never in my whole life seen someone do what you did. Oh, man.
EMILY BLUNT: Yeah. And I think we would
all attest to that. - Yeah, for sure.
- Yeah, 100%. Oh, God.
EMILY BLUNT: Yeah. Irish people
can't take praise. ROBERT DOWNEY JR: Let it in.
EMILY BLUNT: I know. [LAUGHTER] Look, he just wants
to go completely in. He just turned to dust, if
you're wondering where he went. [LAUGHTER] You're like, where have I gone?
- Thank you. Please move on.
[LAUGHTER] Please move on. But then, the
subject matter is-- the I-word as well--
is so important. Was that daunting beyond just
trying to rise to the occasion with Christopher Nolan? No, it's knowing that Chris
Nolan is making the story and we're in it. And so it wasn't
daunting at all. For me it was
like, to me, it was like, this is the
appropriate director matched to this incredibly
important story. Like, this is an obvious
marriage made in heaven. And we're the kids, you
know, in the middle of it. And so it wasn't
daunting at all. But I don't know how
Cillian didn't lose his mind. I--
- No, no, no. For sure. We looked at the schedule,
we would pop in and out, and you were there. You were never not there. EMILY BLUNT: Mm-hmm. And none of us really know-- we knew in parts what
the experience are. But even just, if you just talk
about it in terms of a lift-- Yeah. - How?
- Yeah. Just give us a
little about how. But you know. You get into a kind of a rhythm. You get that kind of rhythm
when you're in every single day and you don't think
about anything else, and it just consumes you. It's all you live and breathe.
- Like a full possession. Yeah, it's kind of
like if you're in this-- yeah, it is kind of like a
little bit like a possession. But it was the best. I mean, coming to work and,
like, you look at the college and you go, oh my God, I got
a scene with Downey tomorrow. And then I got a
scene what Matt, and I got a scene
with Emily, and then I got a scene with Gary Oldman. It was-- I mean, what actor
wouldn't-- that's just a dream job. HOST: Yeah. And, of course, you got
the best people in the world. You've got to just raise
your game every time. It was just a--
- But stamina. Stamina and the talent is crazy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And how you did it eating
a celery stick a day, I don't know. [LAUGHTER] I do not know how you did it. There's usually a target
weight that you hit. Yeah.
[LAUGHTER] And then, you know,
the shirt's off and you're in this
certain gown or whatever. Yeah. And then you
relax a little bit. - No.
- Nothing. This was, as we crept, there
was no day that you weren't still on a mission because
they were shooting as much in sequence as possible.
- - Mm-hmm.
- So we also saw-- He grew more and
more emaciated. --and what you
also did, my brother, was you hosted this for
everyone else because the fish stinks from the head.
- [LAUGHS] ROBERT DOWNEY JR:
And if you come in and Cillian's in a bit of a
mood, because don't you know all the pressure he's under,
and he just had to do a lecture in Dutch the day before. And now he's got
to do these five scenes here just in scene two. And that's where I really
think you really, really-- It was that deliberate one
foot in front of the other. - Yeah, that's all it is.
- You know what I mean? - Yeah.
- But it was just-- Well, I think you're
saying the kindest words. But I think it was just
the atmosphere on set was that everyone was there
for the work, like, completely. You know? There's no trailers. There's no, like, hierarchy. Everyone's just there
to do good work. And that's because of Chris. That's the atmosphere
he creates. You know? And we all felt that
it could be something really, really special. I think we all felt that. How has your relationship
with Christopher evolved? Has he changed as a
filmmaker, his approach? No, I mean, I think
he's just refining and refining his vision.
HOST: Yeah. You know, I think this
film might be his kind of magnum opus, you know? I think it's absolutely a
stunning, stunning piece of work. What he's doing within
the language of film, I think nobody else is
doing like he's doing it. And he makes it
for the theaters. He makes it for that collective
experience of strangers sitting in the dark and watching this
thing and being transported, you know? Nobody really does
it like him, and it's just terrifically satisfying
to be involved in it. EMILY BLUNT: Yeah. It does feel so different. The pace is almost dizzying. Every scene, you
know, you're talking about these great scenes
that you're getting to do, but they're so short. Did that feel
different as far as, like, the approach to making it? We shot really fast.
Right? I mean, we shot it in
like 57 days or something. We were going all over America. It was just like this train.
MATT DAMON: Yeah. CILLIAN MURPHY: But I have never
seen a crew work like that. The crew worked unbelievable.
ROBERT DOWNEY JR: Yeah. Like he works
unbelievably fast, but then, when you're actually
doing the scenes-- You don't feel rushed. You don't feel ever,
ever, ever rushed. No, no, no.
- Yeah. And they feel
somehow intimate, like Hoyte has this
ability to operate this giant IMAX camera and
hold-- put it on his shoulder. And because you're kind of
all sitting around talking, suddenly Hoyte has
got the camera up, and suddenly the scene's
kind of happening. CILLIAN MURPHY: Yeah.
EMILY BLUNT: Mm-hmm. And it doesn't feel like-- It's declared. OK, everybody, we're
going to do this now. Let's go.
- Yeah. It's just kind of-- it
just starts to happen. And that's Chris's approach. I never saw a mark. Oh, no.
No way. Now, sometimes you'll
do that because things are hyper-specific and then
you have freedom within it. As long as you hit
that mark, it's cool. But it was always
like, I'm not even-- we're not even doing that.
- Mm-hmm. Yeah. And that was another
kind of surprise from what my projection
might have been, you know? Yeah. There were no cranes. There was no steadicam. They kind of stripped
it all back to the most kind of basic toys, you know? Just mostly dollies, right? EMILY BLUNT: Yeah. CILLIAN MURPHY: And then
one camera for most of it. It was-- I mean, it was
just amazing to watch those guys work.
- Yes. But I do agree,
the pace of it, like, the velocity
of it when I saw it was just dizzying and jarring. HOST: Yes. It was so like
this runaway train. And you kind of never want
to get in front of it. Which is his brain.
[LAUGHTER] - Oh, it's amazing.
- Yeah, no. Yeah, it's his brain. It's Chris's brain, but
it's Oppenheimer's brain. - Yes.
- That's what's-- CILLIAN MURPHY: Yeah.
- Yes. ROBERT DOWNEY JR: Yeah. --carrying you
through this story. [MUSIC PLAYING]
