The film boasts an all-star cast.
Oppenheimer is blasting onto screens this summer. Christopher Nolan’s latest is a biopic about the creation of the first ever nuclear bomb.
Boasting an incredible lineup of actors, its cast is one of the strongest you’re likely to find in any summer blockbuster.
The film stars Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy as the eponymous J Robert Oppenheimer, the director of the Manhattan Project and father of the atomic bomb.
Murphy previously compared Oppenheimer with his role as Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders because he sees both figures as “contradictory characters”.
“I’m interested in the man and what [inventing the atomic bomb] does to the individual,” Murphy told The Observer. “The mechanics of it, that’s not really for me – I don’t have the intellectual capability to understand them, but these contradictory characters are fascinating.
“Tommy Shelby’s a complete contradiction, too. People identify with that, because we all walk around with these contradictory ideas coexisting in our heads.”
Murphy is joined by the likes of Emily Blunt as Oppenheimer’s wife, Kitty, Matt Damon as Lieutenant General Leslie Groves, Robert Downey Jr as Lewis Strauss, and Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock.
In early reactions, the acting has been praised, with Murphy and Downey Jr stealing the show with “flawless” performances.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Oppenheimer cast, including which actor is playing which character and where you might recognise them from.
Oppenheimer cast: Who stars in Christopher Nolan’s movie alongside Cillian Murphy?
The main cast list is as follows:
- Cillian Murphy as J Robert Oppenheimer
- Emily Bunt as Katherine ‘Kitty’ Oppenheimer
- Matt Damon as Leslie Groves
- Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock
- Robert Downey Jr as Lewis Strauss
- Dylan Arnold as Frank Oppenheimer
- Josh Hartnett as Ernest Lawrence
- Matthew Modine as Vannevar Bush
- Emma Dumont as Jackie Oppenheimer
- Benny Safdie as Edward Teller
- Kenneth Branagh as Niels Bohr
- Jack Quaid as Richard Feynman
- Gary Oldman as Harry S. Truman
- Olivia Thirlby as Lilli Hornig
- Tom Conti as Albert Einstein
- Dane DeHaan as Kenneth Nichols
Read on for everything you need to know about the cast and characters.
Cillian Murphy plays J. Robert Oppenheimer
!["Cillian]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2023/07/R30028IMAXR1601V01DKPbt1886.0000448-a6844bb.jpg?quality=90&crop=1694px%2C1183px%2C5539px%2C3690px&resize=620%2C413" "\"OPPENHEIMER\"")
Who is J. Robert Oppenheimer? A theoretical physicist who was the father of the atomic bomb during the Second World War.
What else has Cillian Murphy been in? Murphy is best known for his role as Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders. The Irish actor has also starred in movies including 28 Days Later, Cold Mountain, Red Eye, and Breakfast on Pluto, as well as The Edge of Love, Inception, Dunkirk, and The Dark Knight Rises.
Emily Bunt plays Katherine ‘Kitty’ Oppenheimer
!["Emily]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2023/07/R30008oppen5ptimedipr03Abt1886.0265416-07b90ca.jpg?quality=90&crop=1453px%2C0px%2C5188px%2C3456px&resize=620%2C413" "\"OPPENHEIMER\"")
Who is Kitty Oppenheimer? Robert Oppenheimer’s wife.
What else has Emily Blunt been in? The Golden Globe-winning actress is best known for appearing in The Devil Wears Prada, Looper, The Young Victoria, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, Into the Woods, Edge of Tomorrow and Mary Poppins Returns. More recently, she appeared in A Quiet Place, and its sequel, Jungle Cruise, BBC drama The English and The Girl on the Train, for which she received a BAFTA nomination.
Matt Damon plays Leslie Groves
!["Matt]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2023/07/GF-03068MSG-2c84053.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"OPPENHEIMER\"")
Who is Leslie Groves? A lieutenant general in the United States Army who played a crucial part in the Manhattan Project alongside Oppenheimer.
What else has Matt Damon been in? You might recognise Damon from the Bourne franchise. He has also tried his hand at other real-life roles including as Carroll Shelby in Ford v. Ferrari and as James Granger in The Monuments Men in 2014.
Florence Pugh plays Jean Tatlock
!["Florence]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2023/07/R20017oppen5ptimedipr02Abt1886.0182806-756b94f.jpg?quality=90&crop=503px%2C358px%2C3378px%2C2250px&resize=620%2C413" "\"OPPENHEIMER\"")
Who is Jean Tatlock? A member of the United States Communist Party, and a psychiatrist, who engaged in a romantic relationship with Robert Oppenheimer.
What else has Florence Pugh been in? Pugh has also starred in Little Women, Hawkeye, Fighting with my Family, Midsommar, Don’t Worry Darling and The Wonder. More recently, she voiced the character of Goldilocks in the recent Puss in Boots sequel.
Robert Downey Jr. plays Lewis Strauss
!["Robert]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2023/07/GF-09886MSG-517d939.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"OPPENHEIMER\"")
Who is Lewis Strauss? Lewis Strauss, a naval officer who served two terms on the United States Atomic Energy Commission.
What else has Robert Downey Jr. been in? Downey is best known for starring as Tony Stark in 10 films within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, beginning with Iron Man in 2008. In addition, Downey Jr. has starred as Sherlock Holmes in Guy Ritchie’s film of the same name and its sequel. He has also appeared in Chaplin, Ally McBeal, and Tropic Thunder.
Dylan Arnold plays Frank Oppenheimer
!["L]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2023/07/GF-11614MSG-5830a39.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"OPPENHEIMER\"")
Who is Frank Oppenheimer? Oppenheimer’s younger brother. Frank was a professor of physics at the University of Colorado.
What else has Dylan Arnold been in? You might recognise the actor from his role as Cameron in the 2018 Halloween reboot and its sequel Halloween Kills. He also had a recurring role in the final series of Nashville. More recently, he appeared in You season 3 as college student Dylan Arnold.
Josh Hartnett plays Ernest Lawrence
!["Josh]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2023/07/GF-13364MSG-d302cec.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"OPPENHEIMER\"")
Who is Ernest Lawrence? An American nuclear physicist. In 1939, he bagged the Nobel Prize for his invention of the cyclotron. He was also instrumental in Oppenheimer’s development of the atomic bomb during World War II
What else has Josh Hartnett been in? Hartnett rose to fame in 1998 with a starring role in the Halloween franchise entry Halloween H20: 20 Years Later opposite Jamie Lee Curtis. His other film credits include The Faculty, Pearl Harbor and Black Hawk Down.
Matthew Modine plays Vannevar Bush
!["L]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2023/07/GF-18873MSG-437bb59.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"OPPENHEIMER\"")
Who is Vannevar Bush? An electrical engineer who headed up the Office of Scientific Research and Development.
What else has Matthew Modine been in? Modine rose to fame thanks to his role as Marine Private/Sergeant JT Davis in Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket. He went on to star in films including Birdy, Married to the Mob, and Short Cuts. Modine also played the role of sinister scientist Dr Martin Brenner in Stranger Things.
Dane DeHaan plays Kenneth Nichols
!["Dane]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2023/07/GF-21400MSG-f491550.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"OPPENHEIMER\"")
Who is Kenneth Nichols? District engineer of the Manhattan Project.
What else has Dane DeHaan been in? DeHaan is best known for his leading role in Chronicle and as the Green Goblin in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Emma Dumont plays Jackie Oppenheimer
Who is Jackie Oppenheimer? Oppenheimer’s sister-in-law and wife to his younger brother Frank.
What else has Emma Dumont been in? Dumont is best known for her role as Melanie Segal in the ABC Family series Bunheads. She also appeared as Emma Karn in the NBC series Aquarius, and as Lorna Dane/Polaris in the FOX series The Gifted.
Benny Safdie plays Edward Teller
!["Benny]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2023/07/GF-13315MSG-9ec3fef.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"OPPENHEIMER\"")
Who is Edward Teller? Another scientist who worked with Oppenheimer on the Manhattan Project.
What else has Benny Safdie been in? Fans might recognise Safdie from his appearance in the 2017 film Good Time, Licorice Pizza and, most recently, Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Who else is in the cast of Nolan’s Oppenheimer?
!["Christopher]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2023/07/GF-03526MSG-e306ba9.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"OPPENHEIMER\"")
Michael Angarano has also joined the cast as Robert Serber, another physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project alongside Oppenheimer, while Josh Peck is on board as Kenneth Bainbridge, a physicist who directed the first test of the atomic bomb for the Manhattan Project and Alden Ehrenreich plays Richard Feynman, a theoretical physicist famous for his work on quantum electrodynamics.
In addition, Danny Deferrari plays Enrico Fermi, another member of the Manhattan Project who is famous for creating the world’s first nuclear reactor, Gustaf Skarsgård plays Hans Bethe, a scientist who won the Nobel Prize in 1967 for his work on the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis and Devon Bostick portrays Seth Neddermeyer, another physicist working on the Manhattan Project.
Gary Oldman will also appear as Harry S. Truman, the 33rd President of the United States. In an interview on the UK radio station TalkSport earlier in 2023, Oldman confirmed he would appear in the film for “one scene, a page and a half.”
Kenneth Branagh, Rami Malek, Jack Quaid and Casey Affleck have also been confirmed as cast members, but details of their roles are being kept under wraps for now.
Oppenheimer is coming to UK cinemas on 21st July 2023. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on tonight.
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