Oppenheimer Cast, Characters & Actors

Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is one of the most anticipated films of 2023. The famous director returns after 2021’s Tenet with the story of the man who helped create the atomic bomb.

After moving away from Warner Bros., Nolan’s new historic epic is being distributed by Universal Pictures and loaded with a star-studded cast.

Every Actor & Character in Oppenheimer

Cillian Murphy – J. Robert Oppenheimer

After being featured in five previous Christopher Nolan films, Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy gets to take on the leading role in Oppenheimer. 

J. Robert Oppenheimer was a renowned American physicist and the scientific director of the Manhattan Project, leading the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.

Emily Blunt – Katherine “Kitty” Oppenheimer

Emily Blunt plays the opposite of Cillian Murphy as Katherine “Kitty” Oppenheimer, the supportive wife of J. Robert Oppenheimer. 

Matt Damon – Leslie Groves

Lieutenant General Leslie Groves supervised the Pentagon’s construction and led the Manhattan Project during World War II.

Golden Globe and Academy Award winner Matt Damon takes on this role alongside Murphy’s Oppenheimer.

Robert Downey Jr. – Lewis Strauss

Lewis Strauss was an American businessman and public servant who served as the Chairman of the United States Atomic Energy Commission.

He’ll be portrayed by Robert Downey Jr., an actor trying to find his new direction after an 11-year stint playing Iron Man/Tony Stark.

Florence Pugh – Jean Tatlock

Florence Pugh takes on the pivotal role of Jean Tatlock, an American psychiatrist and poet known for her romantic involvement with J. Robert Oppenheimer.

Josh Hartnett – Ernest Lawrence

Ernest Lawrence was an American physicist and inventor who played a crucial role in the Manhattan Project. Josh Hartnett, who recently starred with Aaron Paul in Season 6 of Black Mirror, takes on the role.

Casey Affleck – Boris Pash

Boris Pash, an American military officer and intelligence agent, gained recognition as the leader of a mission that had the objective of collecting intelligence regarding the development of German nuclear weapons.

Academy Award-winning actor Casey Affleck takes on the role of Pash.

Rami Malek – David Hill

Academy Award-winning actor Rami Malek, best known for his roles in Bohemian Rhapsody and No Time to Die, plays David Hill, an experimental physicist at the University of Chicago’s Met Lab during the Manhattan Project.

Kenneth Branagh – Niels Bohr

Kenneth Branagh (Murder on the Orient Express) plays Niels Bohr, a Danish physicist who made significant contributions to the understanding of atomic structure and quantum mechanics.

Benny Safdie – Edward Teller

Actor and director (Uncut Gems) Benny Safdie plays Edward Teller, a Hungarian-American theoretical physicist who is often called the “father of the hydrogen bomb.”

Dylan Arnold – Frank Oppenheimer

Dylan Arnold is Frank Oppenheimer, the younger brother of Cillian Murphy’s character. Frank made significant contributions to the field of particle physics and played a key role in promoting scientific literacy.

Gustaf Skarsgård – Hans Bethe

Hans Bethe was a German-American physicist who played a crucial role in the Manhattan Project, making important contributions to the development of the atomic bomb.

Best known for his work on the TV series Vikings, Gustaf Skarsgård plays the physicist.

David Krumholtz – Isidor Isaac Rabi

Isidor Isaac Rabi was a Noble Prize-winning American physicist. He played a significant role in the Manhattan Project, working on the development of radar technology.

David Krumholtz, best known as Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause, tackles the important role.

Matthew Modine – Vannevar Bush

Vannevar Bush served as the director of the Office of Scientific Research and Development during World War II, where he oversaw numerous scientific and technological advancements, including the Manhattan Project.

Recently seen as Papa aka Dr. Martin Brenner in Stranger Things, Matthew Modine is set to appear as Bush.

David Dastmalchian – William L. Borden

A DC and Marvel alum, David Dastmalchian joins Christopher Nolan’s cast as William L. Borden. 

Borden accused J. Robert Oppenheimer of being a Soviet agent, resulting in security hearings and the revocation of Oppenheimer’s security clearance. 

Tom Conti – Albert Einstein

The most famous scientist of the 20th Century, Albert Einstein revolutionized humanity’s understanding of the universe with his theory of relativity. Toni Conti plays the legendary physicist in Oppenheimer.

Michael Angarano – Robert Serber

Michael Angarano, best known as Will Stronghold in 2005’s Sky High, plays Robert Serber, a physicist who worked closely with J. Robert Oppenheimer and contributed to the development of the atomic bomb.

Jack Quaid – Richard Feynman

From The Boys and My Adventures with Superman, Jack Quaid is Richard Feynman, who worked as a member of the theoretical division at Los Alamos Laboratory. This is where Oppenheimer served as the scientific director of the Manhattan Project.

Josh Peck – Kenneth Bainbridge

Kenneth Bainbridge served as the director of the Trinity Test, which was the first successful detonation of a nuclear weapon in history. He’s played by Josh Peck, most famously known as Josh Nichols on Nickelodeon’s Drake & Josh.

Olivia Thirlby – Lilli Hornig

Lilli Hornig was one of the few women scientists to work on the Manhattan Project, where she conducted research on plutonium.

Olivia Thirlby is known for her roles in films like Juno and Dredd.

Dane DeHaan – Kenneth Nichols

Kenneth Nichols served as the district engineer in charge of the Manhattan Project’s construction and infrastructure. He’s played by Dane DeHaan, known for his work in 2012’s Chronicle and 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Danny Deferrari – Enrico Fermi

Enrico Fermi played a pivotal role in the development of the first controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction, leading to the creation of the atomic bomb. Danny Deffarrari is best known for his role in Shiva Baby.

Alden Ehrenreich – Senate Aide

Most notably known as Han Solo in 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story, Alden Ehrenreich is playing an unnamed Senate Aide.

Jefferson Hall – Haakon Chevalier

Haakon Chevalier was an American poet and translator; he’s played by Jefferson Hall, who also appeared in Nolan’s 2021 film Tenet.

Britt Kyle – Barbara Chevalier

Married to Haakon, Barbara Chevalier is played by Britt Kyle, best known for her role in 2016’s Viral.

Jason Clarke – Roger Robb

Best known from Zero Dark Thirty, Jason Clarke plays Roger Robb, a circuit judge who served as special counsel to an Atomic Energy Commission hearing.

James D’Arcy – Patrick Blackett

James D’Arcy has worked with Nolan before in 2017’s Dunkirk, this time he plays Patrick Blackett, a professor and tutor of J. Robert Oppenheimer and Cambridge.

Tony Goldwyn – Gordon Gray

Gordon Gray was an American government official who chaired the Personnel Security Board that conducted the security clearance hearings against Oppenheimer. 

Best known for 1990’s Ghost, Tony Goldwyn is playing Gray.

Devon Bostick – Seth Neddermeyer

Seth Neddermeyer was a physicist who played a key role in the research and development of implosion-type nuclear weapons. He’s played by Devon Bostick, best known for his role as Rodrick in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid films.

Alex Wolff – Luis Walter Alvarez

Luis Walter Alvarez was a physicist who worked on the development of radar and conducting research related to nuclear weapons. Alex Wolff, best known for The Naked Brothers Band and Jumanji, takes on the role.

Scott Grimes – Counsel

Portraying an unnamed lawyer in the film, Scott Grimes is best known as Steve Smith in American Dad.

Josh Zuckerman – Giovanni Rossi Lomanitz

Josh Zuckerman (Sex Drive) plays Giovanni Rossi Lomanitz, a physicist and chemist involved in research on nuclear fusion, plasma physics, and the effects of radiation.

Matthias Schweighöfer – Werner Heisenberg

From Army of Thieves, Matthias Schweighöfer takes on the role of Werner Heisenberg, a German physicist who made groundbreaking contributions to the field of quantum mechanics.

Christopher Denham – Klaus Fuchs

Klaus Fuchs was a German-born physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project and later became a Soviet spy. 

Christopher Denham is best known for supporting roles in Argo, Being the Ricardos, and Shutter Island, taking on the untrustworthy role.

David Rysdahl – Donald Hornig

Donald Hornig was a scientist that was part of the team at Los Alamos Laboratory, where he was involved in the testing and evaluation of nuclear weapons. David Rysdahl from Hulu’s No Exit portrays the expert.

Guy Burnet – George Eltenton

George Eltenton was mentioned by Haakon Chevalier to Oppenheimer as a scientist who might share technical information with the Soviet Union.

Guy Burnet is best known for Ray Donovan, Counterpart, and The Affair.

Louise Lombard – Ruth Tolman

Ruth Toman was a psychiatrist who had an affair with Oppenheimer, she’s played by Louise Lombard (The House of Elliot).

Harrison Gilbertson – Philip Morrison

Philip Morrison was a physicist who played a role in the Manhattan Project. His work in nuclear physics during this project laid the foundation for his later endeavors in science education and communication.

Harrison Gilbertson from Upgrade and In the Tall Grass is set to portray Morrison.

Emma Dumont – Jackie Oppenheimer

Emma Dumont, from Licorice Pizza, takes on the role of Jackie Oppenheimer, Frank’s wife.

Trond Fausa Aurvåg – George Kistiakowsky

George Kistiakowsky was a Ukrainian-American chemist and explosives expert who served as the head of the Explosives Division, overseeing the design and development of explosive lenses used in nuclear weapons.

Trond Fausa Aurvåg, best known from 2006’s The Bothersome Man, takes on the part.

Olli Haaskivi – Edward Condon

Edward Condon was a physicist known for his contributions to quantum mechanics and atomic physics. He worked on the development of radar systems during the Manhattan Project.

Olli Haaskivi from HBO’s Winning Time and Disney+’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will be portraying Condon.

Gary Oldman – Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States. He was ultimately responsible for making the decision to use atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which were developed under Oppenheimer’s direction.

Gary Oldman, best known for Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy and playing Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, takes on the powerful role.

John Gowans – Ward Evans

Best known from 1979’s Stark Trek, John Gowans plays Ward Evans, a chemist and professor who was one of the three members of the commission that revoked J. Robert Oppenheimer’s security clearance.

Kurt Koehler – Thomas A. Morgan

Thomas A. Morgan was on the Personnel Security Board that conducted the security clearance hearings against Oppenheimer. He’s played by Kurt Koehler, who has briefly appeared on TV shows such as Agents of SHIELD, The Big Bang Theory, and Parks and Recreation.

Macon Blair – Lloyd Garrison

Lloyd Garrison was one of the lawyers to represent Oppenheimer. Macon Blair (Blue Ruin) plays the attorney.

Harry Groener – Senator Gale W. McGee

Senator Gale W. McGee was involved in national policy discussions and legislation that may have intersected with Oppenheimer’s work or the broader field of nuclear energy.

Harry Groener from A Cure for Wellness will portray the US Senator.

Jack Cutmore-Scott – Lyall Johnson

A Christopher Nolan veteran, Jack Cutmore-Scott (Tenet and Dunkirk) plays Lyall Johnson, a participant in the World War II atomic bomb project who later assumed supervisory positions within the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.

James Remar – Henry Stimson

Henry Stimson was the United States Secretary of War known for his role in the decision to use atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and advocating for the establishment of the United Nations.

James Remar from Dexter takes on this prominent role.

Gregory Jbara – Chairman Warren Magnuson

Chairman Warren Magnuson was a U.S. Senator. He’s played by Gregory Jbara, best known for his time on Blue Bloods.

Tim DeKay – Senator John Pastore

Best known from the TV series White Collar, Tim DeKay plays John Pastore, an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Rhode Island from 1950 to 1976.

Ted King – Senator Bartlett

Ted King (The Bold and the Beautiful) is playing Edward Lewis “Bob” Bartlett, an influential Alaska politician who served as a U.S. Senator.

Steven Houska – Senator Scott

Senator Scott is likely Hugh Scott, a previous representative for Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives and eventually the U.S. Senate. Steven Houska recently appeared in an episode of General Hospital.

James Urbaniak – Kurt Gödel

Kurt Gödel, an influential mathematician, is known for his theorems that revolutionized mathematics and had far-reaching implications for philosophy and computer science.

He’s played by James Urbaniak, who recently appeared in Steven Spielberg’s The Fablemans.

Sadie Stratton – Mary Washburn

Sadie Stratton, as seen in Underground and West World, plays Mary Washburn, a member of the Communist Party who introduces Jean Tatlock to Oppenheimer.

Rory Keane – Hartland Snyder

Rory Keane (The Big Door Prize) plays Hartland Snyder, a physicist, who collaborated with Oppenheimer to calculate the gravitational collapse of a dust particle sphere.

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Oppenheimer hits theaters on Friday, July 21.