Mike Coppola / Getty Images / Warner Bros. Pictures / Courtesy The Everett Collection
Cillian Murphy and Christopher Nolan are reunited for Oppenheimer, and the duo reminisce about their previous collaboration on Batman Begins.
In an interview with EW, Nolan recalled seeing Murphy in the newspaper talking about “28 Days Later” and was intrigued by his looks and had him test him for the DC film.
Murphy said he didn’t feel like he was “Batman material,” adding, “I felt like it was right and proper for Christian Bale to take that role.” But I do remember that Thrill of trying on the suit and being guided by you. These tests were high production values.
“I think we both knew you weren’t going to play Batman. But I really wanted to get on the set with you, I wanted to put you on the film,” Nolan said. “We did these screen tests very extensively, on 35mm, with a small set. There was an electrifying atmosphere among the crew as you began your performance.”
Nolan continued, “We shot two scenes – a Bruce Wayne scene and a Batman scene – and I made sure the executives came over and watched what you were doing on set. Everyone was so excited as I watched them do it that I then said to them, “Okay, Christian Bale is Batman, but what about Cillian playing Scarecrow?” There was no disagreement. All previous Batman villains were played by big movie stars: Jack Nicholson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Carrey and so on. That was a big leap for her based solely on this test. So that was how you could play Scarecrow.”