Christopher Nolan has reteamed with one of his favourite actors – Cillian Murphy – for one of the most anticipated movies of the year; the upcoming Oppenheimer. For the first time, Murphy takes the lead role in the war movie, but he has collaborated with Nolan many times before. In a recent interview with EW, they took a look back at the many films they’ve made together.
One such was title was the science fiction movie mind-bender that was 2010’s Inception. Nolan looks back fondly on the making of the film, and said; “That was a wild experience, all over the world. Being on top of the mountain with everybody trying to ski in a horrible snowstorm and everything. It was great to have an ally there [referring to Murphy]. It was quite an experience. I treasure that one.”
Murphy concurred with Nolan about how special Inception was; “That really blew my mind, that film. You know, working with Leo and all that amazing cast.” Nolan told Murphy; “That was the first time you worked with Tom [Hardy]”. Murphy replied; “Yeah, and we’ve been co-conspirators on a few things over the years since then [including in the Peaky Blinders cast]. He was brilliant in that film. A very special scene for me was that scene with Pete Postlethwaite.”
Nolan said that he found Murphy and Postlethwaite’s scene particularly moving; “What you guys did was fabulous. It was quite soon before Pete [Postlethwaite] died, it was quite soon before my own father died, actually. It still gets me every time, that last connection between the two of you, and then Tom Hardy in the background, having manipulated it all, watching it all take place. I find it moving and it speaks to me about a particular time in my life.”
Pete Postlethwaite rose to fame in the early 1990s, with roles opposite one of the best actors of all time, Daniel Day-Lewis, in The Last of the Mohicans and In the Name of the Father. This continued with The Usual Suspects, Romeo + Juliet, Brassed Off, and Amistad. One of his last roles was in Ben Affleck’s crime thriller movie The Town.
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