Summary
- Cillian Murphy reportedly received $10 million for playing the titular role in Oppenheimer, which marked his first time starring as a leading man in a Christopher Nolan movie.
- Robert Downey Jr., Emily Blunt, and Matt Damon each got paid $4 million for ing roles, a significant pay cut for the opportunity to work with Nolan.
- Other cast like Florence Pugh and Benny Safdie were reportedly paid relatively lower salaries for their roles in Oppenheimer.
true story of J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), known as the "father of the atomic bomb," Oppenheimer was both a critical and commercial success. In part thanks to 2023's "Barbenheimer" phenomenon, Oppenheimer raked in nearly $1 billion worldwide at the box office (via Box Office Mojo), profiting handsomely off a budget of $100 million.
The unbelievably stacked cast of Oppenheimer boasts a ton of familiar faces, many of whom only appear onscreen for a brief moment. Accompanying Murphy in ing roles are Emily Blunt as the titular physicist's wife, Kitty Oppenheimer, Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss, a prominent member of the United States Atomic Energy Commission and foe of Oppenheimer, and Matt Damon as Leslie Groves, the director of the Manhattan Project. While these are pretty big names, not as much of Oppenheimer's $100 million budget went toward paying their salaries as one might expect.
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Cillian Murphy Was Paid $10 Million For Oppenheimer
Murphy Played The Titular J. Robert Oppenheimer
Oppenheimer marked Murphy's first time starring as the leading man in one of Nolan's movies.
Several online reports claim that Murphy was paid $10 million to play the lead role in Oppenheimer (via NME). Murphy had previously worked with Nolan on five other films, which include Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), Inception (2010), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), and Dunkirk (2017). However, Oppenheimer marked Murphy's first time starring as the leading man in one of Nolan's movies, which also came with his highest paycheck for one movie (via Fortune) and his first-ever Oscar nomination (and a probable win).
Every Christopher Nolan & Cillian Murphy Movie Ranked
Christopher Nolan and Cillian Murphy have been making movies together since 2005's Batman Begins, with the Oppenheimer marking their sixth.
Robert Downey Jr, Matt Damon & Emily Blunt Were Paid $4 Million Each For Oppenheimer
They All Took A Significant Paycut To Work With Nolan
After Murphy's $10 million payday, the next biggest salaries went to the three A-list stars that make up the first tier of ing actors in Oppenheimer. This talented trio was all paid the same amount for their ing roles, although the number is not nearly as high as one might expect. According to Variety, Robert Downey Jr., Emily Blunt, and Matt Damon were all paid $4 million each to star in Oppenheimer.
Depending on the project and role, the typical rates for stars of this stature range from $10 million to $20 million.
While $4 million is still a pretty hefty paycheck for most working actors, it's a much lower monetary figure than these Hollywood heavy-hitters would ordinarily be asking for these days. Depending on the project and role, the typical rates for stars of this stature range from $10 million to $20 million. However, per Variety, this collective pay cut was worth it "for the privilege of working with Nolan" on Oppenheimer. Plus, RDJ, Blunt, and Damon will all profit from back-end compensation, which, given Oppenheimer's enormous box office earnings, will likely equate to much more than what they were paid upfront.
RDJ in particular pulled in significantly less money on Oppenheimer compared to his massive MCU earnings. In his last appearance as Iron Man, Avengers: End Game in 2019, including back-end compensation. He saw the same total amount the year prior for Avengers: Infinity War. Agreeing to significantly lower his asking price in order to be a part of Nolan's latest project worked out well for RDJ, though, since he was nominated for Best ing Actor at the 2024 Oscars for his performance as Strauss in Oppenheimer.
What Other Oppenheimer Cast Were Paid For Oppenheimer Roles
The Cast Includes Florence Pugh, Benny Safdie, & More
According to NME, the next highest paycheck in the Oppenheimer cast went to Florence Pugh, who was paid $1 million for her portrayal of Oppenheimer's lover, Jean Tatlock. As for the remainder of Oppenheimer's ing cast, most of their salary amounts are unknown. However, there are reports on how much a few of the other Oppenheimer were paid for their smaller parts. ComingSoon reports that Benny Safdie, who played "father of the hydrogen bomb," Edward Teller, made $700,000 for Oppenheimer.
Surprisingly, Michael Angarano was reportedly paid $500,000 for his minor role as Manhattan Project physicist Robert Serber despite having very limited screen time. In comparison, Josh Hartnett reportedly only made $400,000 for Oppenheimer, even though he had a more prominent role as Nobel Prize-winning nuclear physicist Ernest Lawrence than Angarano and arguably even Safdie. Of course, several factors play into an actor's salary for a given role, and it's possible that certain actors like Hartnett also took pay cuts to work with Nolan in Oppenheimer.
How Much The Oppenheimer Cast Was Paid |
||
|---|---|---|
Actor |
Character |
Salary |
Cillian Murphy |
J. Robert Oppenheimer |
$10 million |
Robert Downey Jr. |
Lewis Strauss |
$4 million |
Emily Blunt |
Kitty Oppenheimer |
$4 million |
Matt Damon |
Leslie Groves |
$4 million |
Florence Pugh |
Jean Tatlock |
$1 million |
Benny Safdie |
Edward Teller |
$700,000 |
Michael Angarano |
Robert Serber |
$500,000 |
Josh Hartnett |
Ernest Lawrence |
$400,000 |
How The Oppenheimer Cast Salaries Compare To Other Christopher Nolan Movies
Christian Bale, Leonardo DiCaprio And Matthew McConaughey Have Earned Some Of The Biggest Paydays
Movie |
Lead Actor |
Salary |
|---|---|---|
Batman Begins (2005) |
Christian Bale |
$9 million |
The Dark Knight (2008) |
Christian Bale |
$10 million |
The Dark Knight Rises (2012) |
Christian Bale |
$15 million |
Inception (2010) |
Leonardo DiCaprio |
$59 million |
Interstellar (2014) |
Matthew McConaughey |
$18 million |
When it comes to other salaries from actors in Christopher Nolan movies, the amount Christian Bale was paid for the Dark Knight trilogy is a great indication of how Nolan's movie gradually grew over time. After appearing in smaller indie movies for most of his career, Batman Begins rose significantly, earning $9 million for the role. His salary rose only slightly to $10 million for The Dark Knight, but he reportedly earned a large bonus following the film's success. He capped off the trilogy by earning $15 million for The Dark Knight Rises.
It might seem safe to assume that playing Batman would fetch the highest salary of any of Nolan's actors but some of the big-name actors who have worked with the filmmaker earned even more than Bale. Following his Oscar win for The Dallas Buyers Club, McConaughey was able to command an $18 million salary for the sci-fi drama Interstellar (via Blinkist).
However, the biggest payday goes to Leonardo DiCaprio for Nolan's blockbuster Inception. Thanks to his deal that included a share in the box office total, DiCaprio earned a reported $59 million, which was one of the highest-paid movie roles of all time (via Business Insider). The Oppenheimer cast made more than they would've if this was earlier in Nolan's career but the established director's movies involve bigger budgets these days.
Sources: Box Office Mojo, NME, Fortune, Variety, ComingSoon, Blinkist, Business Insider
Oppenheimer is a film by Christopher Nolan, which follows the theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, the man behind the atomic bomb. Cillian Murphy will play the titular role, with the story based on the book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin.
- Cast
- Florence Pugh
- Director
- Christopher Nolan
- Budget
- $100 Million
