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This article was originally published on July 25, 2023.
Atthe 2024 Oscars, for Robert Downey Jr. won the award for Best Supporting Actor for his role inOppenheimer.
Then he asked me if I was at all familiar with the character or the subject matter.
The first time I saw his name in print was regarding theproximity fuzeand its development.
Then I challenged a little bit the Mozart-Salieri of it all.
I half-jokingly challenged him on whether Admiral Strauss hadnt done everything that any patriotic American wouldve done.
And he said, Well, this will be a wonderful ongoing dialogue.
So, will you do the film?
And hes Chris Nolan, so hes not asking your fricking agent.
So you knew beforehand about Strauss.
How do you approach research and preparation?
Someone who is conservative for all the right reasons.
The many, many things he did were behind the scenes.
Oftentimes Chris would just come in and say, Robert, great.
Now next time just do nothing.
I was like, Nothing?
And sometimes that was the one hed print.
Sometimes he liked what happened in the takes before or after that.
There was just this ongoing dialogue between a master filmmaker and someone who is open to a new experience.
I feel like Strauss in some ways has the broadest and most pronounced character arc in the movie.
He seems to change more than just about anybody, at least in our eyes.Ill take it.
[Laughs] I mean, look, the arc is Oppenheimers.
Its a very dangerous threshold to cross.
In some ways, he becomes a symbol of the politicization of nuclear technology and science.
Theres this push-pull between science and conscience and ego.
Obviously, Oppenheimers achievement was global.
Strausss achievement had been personal.
But there you have it, buddy.
Nothing new under the sun.
Nolan told me that the actors really got into their roles.
And youve got Matthew Modine, youve got Josh Hartnett knocking it out of the park.
Youve got David Krumholtz nailing it.
We all knew that this was a critical moment.
Turned out pretty darn well.
The film is very dense; theres a lot of information, a lot of characters.
But its also very fast.
Its almost like an action movie about people talking.
Were you guys trying to accelerate or do things faster?
Was that ever a concern?No, because the crazy dichotomy is Nolan is not about control.
So you look down, theres no marks on the floor.
You wonder if you shouldnt pace it up.
And he says, Dont worry about that.
If I didnt write it correctly, then its going to be a problem later.
I was looking at Susan Downey quite a bit because she actually went to film school.
And we were just having this kind of crazy ride together.
I need to see it again.
I have a feeling this is going to be like one of those yearly watch films.
When they come on, you dont change the channel.
Or you want to share this with other folks.
