Oppenheimer’s Cillian Murphy, who plays the titular character in Christopher Nolan’s most anticipated film of the year, recently revealed that he read the Bhagavad Gita as part of his preparation for the role. The actor opened up about his process to play the titular theoretical physicist J Robert Oppenheimer, regarded as one of the fathers of the atom bomb.
In an interview with Sucharita Tyagi, Murphy shared, “I did read the Bhagavad Gita in preparation, and I thought it was an absolutely beautiful text, very inspiring. I think it was a consolation to him; he kind of needed it, and it provided him a lot of consolation all his life.”
When asked about his learnings from the holy book, Murphy joked and said, “Well, don’t grill me on it! I just found it very beautiful.”
It should be noted that unknown to many, he was an ardent follower of the Bhagavad Gita. While making a nuclear weapon that would kill millions of people, he was feeling guilty and struggled with his conscience. That’s when he referred to Bhagavad Gita, a 700-verse Hindu scripture.
After the attack, he quoted Bhagavad Gita and said, “We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried. Most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita; Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty, and to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and says, ‘Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.’ I suppose we all thought that, one way or another.”
Despite being influenced by Bhagavad Gita, he was against the use of atomic bombs. He even advocated against nuclear weapons, and was punished for it. In fact, he became one of the strongest voices against nuclear proliferation and the growing nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union.
He even advised President Harry S Truman to not use atomic bomb on Japan which was already defeated. He described it as a “weapon for aggressors” that had “the elements of surprise and of terror… intrinsic to it.” He reportedly told the president that they both had blood on their hands.
