Cillian Murphy nearly played Oppenheimer in a 2014 TV series

NME

Cillian Murphy was lined-up to play J. Robert Oppenheimer in a TV series nearly a decade ago, it has emerged.

• READ MORE: Cillian Murphy on becoming Oppenheimer: “I didn’t go out much – I didn’t socialise”

The star is currently starring as the theoretical physicist, dubbed the ‘father of the atomic bomb’, in Christopher Nolan‘s film Oppenheimer.

However, the creators of the show Manhattan – which aired on WGN between 2014 and 2015 – have opened up about the casting process for their series, revealing some of the actors considered to play Oppenheimer before Daniel London was eventually cast in the role.

“A thousand percent, Cillian Murphy was on that list,” showrunner Sam Shaw told Vanity Fair, while also revealing that The Bear‘s Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Beck were also considered for the part.

Oppenheimer marks Murphy’s first main role in a Nolan film, having collaborated with the director on numerous occasions in the past in supporting parts.

The actor recently spoke to NME about taking on the role, explaining how the director helped him to “unlock” the character with an “amazing phrase”.

“Chris used this amazing phrase. We were talking about Oppenheimer’s arc and he said, ‘You know, he’s dancing between the raindrops morally.’ That unlocked something in my mind when I was preparing,” he recalled.

Murphy further explained of Oppenheimer: “I do think that he believed it would be the weapon to end all wars. He thought that [having the bomb] would motivate countries to form a sort of nuclear world governance. He was naive.”

Alongside Murphy, Oppenheimer stars Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Rami Malek and Kenneth Branagh.

In a five-star review of the film, NME said: “Not just the definitive account of the man behind the atom bomb, Oppenheimer is a monumental achievement in grown-up filmmaking.

“For years, Nolan has been perfecting the art of the serious blockbuster – crafting smart, finely-tuned multiplex epics that demand attention; that can’t be watched anywhere other than in a cinema, uninterrupted, without distractions. But this, somehow, feels bigger.”

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