Cillian Murphy plays the lead role in Christopher Nolan's 'Oppenheimer'.
Actor Cillian Murphy has said that he read the Bhagavad Gita while preparing for filmmaker Christopher Nolan's 'Oppenheimer'. Mr Murphy plays the lead role of American physicist Julius Robert Oppenheimer who is often credited as the "father of the atomic bomb". The movie, based on his life, is set to release on July 21. Mr Murphy's revelation is gaining traction on the internet since Mr Oppenheimer believed to have famously said that he was reminded of the Gita in the immediate aftermath of successfully testing the world's first atomic bomb in 1945 and invoked a quote "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds".
In an interview with film critic Sucharita Tyagi, Mr Murphy was asked about Mr Oppenheimer being influenced by sacred text, to which the actor said even he was inspired by it.
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"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," the actor said in the video posted by Ms Tyagi on her YouTube channel.
Mr Murphy, however, joked when asked about his own learnings from the book: "Well, don't grill me on it! I just found it very beautiful."
The movie is based on the scientist J Robert Oppenheimer, who led the Manhattan Project, which was an effort to create an atomic bomb during World War II. The movie stars Mr Murphy, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr, Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh.