Cillian Murphy Defends ‘Perfect’ Sex Scenes in Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer features some brief-but-very-naked sex scenes between Cillian Murphy and Florence Pugh’s characters, which earned the movie its R rating. And Murphy believes they’re essential to the film and “perfect.”

Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald ahead of the SAG-AFTRA strike, Murphy explained, “Those scenes were written deliberately. He knew that those scenes would get the movie the rating that it got. And I think when you see it, it’s so fucking powerful. And they’re not gratuitous. They’re perfect. And Florence is just amazing.”

He went on to praise Pugh (who plays Jean Tatlock), saying, “I have loved Florence’s work since Lady Macbeth and I think she’s fucking phenomenal. She has this presence as a person and on screen that is staggering. The impact she has [in Oppenheimer] for the size of the role, it’s quite devastating.”

Christopher Nolan previously told Insider that “when you look at Oppenheimer’s life and you look at his story, 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.”

He went on to say of including sex scenes in the film, “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.”