Cillian Murphy's 'Oppenheimer' Diet Was ‘Like, an Almond' a Day, Says Costar Emily Blunt

Cillian Murphy radically transformed himself to play scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer in the new Christopher Nolan film.Photo:UniversalCillian Murphy went through a radical physical transformation that included losing weight to play scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, the creator of the atomic bomb, in the upcoming Christopher Nolan filmOppenheimer.To drop pounds he had to follow a very restrictive diet, costarEmily Blunt— who plays his onscreen wife Kitty Oppenheimer — toldExtra. “He had such a monumental undertaking. And he could only eat, like, an almond every day,” she said.“He was so emaciated.”Murphy addressed his dramatic weight loss for the role during a recent interview withIndieWire, stressing, “I don’t advise it.”In fact, he steered clear of giving specifics about how much weight he lost, saying, “I don’t want it to be, ‘Cillian lost x weight for the part.’”Emily Blunt plays Cillian Murphy’s onscreen wife in the Christopher Nolan film Oppenheimer, about the creator of the atomic bomb.UniversalNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.But as costarMatt Damon, who plays Manhattan Project director Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves, toldExtra, “The sheer volume of work that he had, and the level of detail that Christopher [Nolan] demands,” Damon said. “There was always something for him to be thinking about. There was something coming down the pike that he needed to—"“Be ahead of,” Blunt finished for him.Murphy did admit that during filming, “I was running on crazy energy; I went over a threshold to where I was not worrying about food or anything. I was so in it, a state of hyper something. But it was good because the character was like that. He never ate.”The weight loss was part of an effort to look as physically similar to the real Oppenheimer as possible, a man whom Murphy toldIndieWirelived off “cigarettes and pipes, he would alternate between the two.”In an interview with theThe New York Times,he said, “I love acting with my body, and Oppenheimer had a very distinct physicality and silhouette, which I wanted to get right.““I had to lose quite a bit of weight, and we worked with the costume and tailoring; he was very slim, almost emaciated,” he added. “He had these really bright eyes and I wanted to give him this wide-eyed look, so we worked on his silhouette and expressions a lot before starting.”His dedication to leadingOppenheimer— which is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning biographyAmerican Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer —often meant Murphy had to skip out on cast dinners, Blunt recently toldPEOPLE.“The sheer volume of what he had to take on and shoulder is so monumental,” Blunt said.“Of course he didn’t want to come and have dinner with us.” Damon told PEOPLE, saying, “He couldn’t. His brain was just too full."“You know that when you have those big roles, that responsibility,” Murphy added to PEOPLE, “You feel it’s kind of overwhelming.“Oppenheimerhits theaters this Friday.

Cillian Murphy radically transformed himself to play scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer in the new Christopher Nolan film.Photo:Universal

Universal

Cillian Murphy went through a radical physical transformation that included losing weight to play scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, the creator of the atomic bomb, in the upcoming Christopher Nolan filmOppenheimer.To drop pounds he had to follow a very restrictive diet, costarEmily Blunt— who plays his onscreen wife Kitty Oppenheimer — toldExtra. “He had such a monumental undertaking. And he could only eat, like, an almond every day,” she said.“He was so emaciated.”Murphy addressed his dramatic weight loss for the role during a recent interview withIndieWire, stressing, “I don’t advise it.”In fact, he steered clear of giving specifics about how much weight he lost, saying, “I don’t want it to be, ‘Cillian lost x weight for the part.’”Emily Blunt plays Cillian Murphy’s onscreen wife in the Christopher Nolan film Oppenheimer, about the creator of the atomic bomb.UniversalNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.But as costarMatt Damon, who plays Manhattan Project director Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves, toldExtra, “The sheer volume of work that he had, and the level of detail that Christopher [Nolan] demands,” Damon said. “There was always something for him to be thinking about. There was something coming down the pike that he needed to—"“Be ahead of,” Blunt finished for him.Murphy did admit that during filming, “I was running on crazy energy; I went over a threshold to where I was not worrying about food or anything. I was so in it, a state of hyper something. But it was good because the character was like that. He never ate.”The weight loss was part of an effort to look as physically similar to the real Oppenheimer as possible, a man whom Murphy toldIndieWirelived off “cigarettes and pipes, he would alternate between the two.”In an interview with theThe New York Times,he said, “I love acting with my body, and Oppenheimer had a very distinct physicality and silhouette, which I wanted to get right.““I had to lose quite a bit of weight, and we worked with the costume and tailoring; he was very slim, almost emaciated,” he added. “He had these really bright eyes and I wanted to give him this wide-eyed look, so we worked on his silhouette and expressions a lot before starting.”His dedication to leadingOppenheimer— which is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning biographyAmerican Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer —often meant Murphy had to skip out on cast dinners, Blunt recently toldPEOPLE.“The sheer volume of what he had to take on and shoulder is so monumental,” Blunt said.“Of course he didn’t want to come and have dinner with us.” Damon told PEOPLE, saying, “He couldn’t. His brain was just too full."“You know that when you have those big roles, that responsibility,” Murphy added to PEOPLE, “You feel it’s kind of overwhelming.“Oppenheimerhits theaters this Friday.

Cillian Murphy went through a radical physical transformation that included losing weight to play scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, the creator of the atomic bomb, in the upcoming Christopher Nolan filmOppenheimer.

To drop pounds he had to follow a very restrictive diet, costarEmily Blunt— who plays his onscreen wife Kitty Oppenheimer — toldExtra. “He had such a monumental undertaking. And he could only eat, like, an almond every day,” she said.

“He was so emaciated.”

Murphy addressed his dramatic weight loss for the role during a recent interview withIndieWire, stressing, “I don’t advise it.”

In fact, he steered clear of giving specifics about how much weight he lost, saying, “I don’t want it to be, ‘Cillian lost x weight for the part.’”

Emily Blunt plays Cillian Murphy’s onscreen wife in the Christopher Nolan film Oppenheimer, about the creator of the atomic bomb.Universal

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

But as costarMatt Damon, who plays Manhattan Project director Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves, toldExtra, “The sheer volume of work that he had, and the level of detail that Christopher [Nolan] demands,” Damon said. “There was always something for him to be thinking about. There was something coming down the pike that he needed to—”

“Be ahead of,” Blunt finished for him.

Murphy did admit that during filming, “I was running on crazy energy; I went over a threshold to where I was not worrying about food or anything. I was so in it, a state of hyper something. But it was good because the character was like that. He never ate.”

The weight loss was part of an effort to look as physically similar to the real Oppenheimer as possible, a man whom Murphy toldIndieWirelived off “cigarettes and pipes, he would alternate between the two.”

In an interview with theThe New York Times,he said, “I love acting with my body, and Oppenheimer had a very distinct physicality and silhouette, which I wanted to get right.”

“I had to lose quite a bit of weight, and we worked with the costume and tailoring; he was very slim, almost emaciated,” he added. “He had these really bright eyes and I wanted to give him this wide-eyed look, so we worked on his silhouette and expressions a lot before starting.”

His dedication to leadingOppenheimer— which is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning biographyAmerican Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer —often meant Murphy had to skip out on cast dinners, Blunt recently toldPEOPLE.

“The sheer volume of what he had to take on and shoulder is so monumental,” Blunt said.

“Of course he didn’t want to come and have dinner with us.” Damon told PEOPLE, saying, “He couldn’t. His brain was just too full.”

“You know that when you have those big roles, that responsibility,” Murphy added to PEOPLE, “You feel it’s kind of overwhelming.”

Oppenheimerhits theaters this Friday.

source: people.com