Irish actor Cillian Murphy has revealed the one habit he won’t condone his next role having.
The Cork-born man has said that he will no longer take on any role that requires him to smoke heavily, after playing gang lord Thomas Shelby in Peaky Blinders and American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer in the upcoming Oppenheimer film, both characters he was required to smoke for.
While portraying both characters Cillian smoked herbal cigarettes and is thought to have smoked a total of 3,000 of them while portraying Thomas Shelby for over nine years on Peaky Blinders.
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Speaking to The Guardian, Cillian revealed: “I’ve smoked so many fake cigarettes for Peaky and this [Oppenheimer]. My next character will not be a smoker. They can’t be good for you. Even herbal cigarettes have health warnings now.”
Taking on the role of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American physicist responsible for the creation of the atomic bomb, meant Cillian needed to be as accurate as possible with his portrayal. Oppenheimer lived on Chesterfield cigarettes and double-strength martinis with lime rims until his death from cancer in 1967, therefore, while in the role, Cillian would be chain smoking and drinking what looked to be double-strength martinis with lime rims.
He said: “Cigarettes and pipes. He would alternate between the two. That’s what did him in in the end.”
Oppenheimer is set to be released in Irish cinemas on July 21st.
