Oppenheimer may have been a box office smash, but some of the A-listers in the star-studded cast didn’t get paid as much as one might’ve guessed to star alongside Cillian Murphy in Christopher Nolan’s historical drama. Based on the 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 supporting 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
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).
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Robert Downey Jr, Matt Damon & Emily Blunt Were Paid $4 Million Each For Oppenheimer
They all took a significant pay cut 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 supporting actors in Oppenheimer. This talented trio were all paid the same amount for their supporting 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.
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, Robert Downey Jr. was paid $75 million for 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 Supporting Actor at the 2024 Oscars for his performance as Strauss in Oppenheimer.
What Other Oppenheimer Cast Members Were Paid For Oppenheimer Roles
Other cast members include Florence Pugh, Benny Safdie, and 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 supporting cast, most of their salary amounts are unknown. However, there are reports on how much a few of the other actors in 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 |
Sources: Box Office Mojo, NME, Fortune, Variety, ComingSoon
Oppenheimer
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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.
- Director
- Christopher Nolan
- Release Date
- July 21, 2023
- Cast
- Cillian Murphy , Emily Blunt , Matt Damon , Robert Downey Jr. , Rami Malek , Florence Pugh
- Budget
- $100 Million
