Christopher Nolan on first time directing sex scenes for Oppenheimer

2023-07-21

Christopher Nolan says he was ‘nervous’ and ‘careful’ in his first time directing sex scenes for Oppenheimer between Cillian Murphy and Florence Pugh

Christopher Nolan said Oppenheimer says he was ‘appropriately nervous and appropriately careful’ in his first time filming sex scenes, for his new movie Oppenheimer.

The Oscar-nominated filmmaker, 52, spoke with Insider Wednesday about making the motion picture, which arrives in theaters Friday.

‘Any time you’re challenging yourself to work in areas you haven’t worked in before, you should be appropriately nervous and appropriately careful and planned and prepared,’ the London native said of the love scenes.

The sex scenes are between the characters J. Robert Oppenheimer, portrayed by Cillian Murphy, and Jean Tatlock, played by Florence Pugh.

The characters were romantically involved prior to, and during, his marriage to wife Katherine ‘Kitty’ Oppenheimer, who is played in the historical drama by Emily Blunt.

The latest: Christopher Nolan, 52, said Oppenheimer says he was ‘appropriately nervous and appropriately careful’ in his first time filming sex scenes, for his new movie Oppenheimer. Pictured at the film’s Paris premiere last week

Nolan told the outlet that the scenes played an ‘essential part’ in establishing the relationship between Oppenheimer and Tatlock, whose link to the American Communist Party led to suspicion of Oppenheimer being a Soviet spy.

‘When you look at Oppenheimer’s life and you look at his story,’ Nolan said, ‘that aspect of his life, the aspect of his sexuality, his way with women, the charm that he exuded, it’s an essential part of his story.’

Nolan, who has directed films including The Dark Knight, Inception and Dunkirk, said that ‘it felt very important to understand their relationship and to really see inside it and understand what made it tick without being coy or allusive about it.’

He added the idea was ‘to try to be intimate, to try and be in there with him and fully understand the relationship that was so important to him.’

Nolan praised the work of Murphy and Pugh in their respective roles; and that he ‘immediately felt a creative connection’ with Pugh in their first collaboration.

‘I felt this is somebody who could bring Jean Tatlock to life,’ he said of Pugh, ‘and have the audience understand the significance of this figure in Oppenheimer’s life.’

Nolan appeared on the Today show Tuesday, saying that it was ‘bittersweet’ to see Oppenheimer cast members including Murphy, Pugh, Blunt, and Matt Damon walk out at the film’s London premiere last week in support of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.

‘We were all there,’ Nolan said. ‘We were very fortunate.’

The sex scenes are between the characters Jean Tatlock, played by Florence Pugh, and J. Robert Oppenheimer, portrayed by Cillian Murphy

The Oppenheimer cast walked out of UK premiere in ‘solidarity’ with the actors’ strike July 13 (L-R: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Murphy, and Pugh)

The director said he was satisfied that the cast was able to support the film, then stand in solidarity with their fellow performers amid a contentious time in the industry.

‘We had the opportunity to somewhat celebrate the film and the actors were all there to support, but then when the time came had to down tools and go off in support of all of their fellow actors and then support the writers as well,’ he said.

In the interview with the show’s Savannah Guthrie, Nolan said that the labor dispute marked ‘an important moment in the industry.’

Nolan said that ‘the business models have been rewritten by the companies we work for, and it’s time to rewrite the deals.’

He said that he hoped that actors joining writers on the picket line helps expedite agreements for both groups seeking better pay, streaming royalties and restrictions on the implementation of artificial intelligence.

‘Hopefully, with everybody unified, that can happen quickly as possible,’ he said.

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