Emily Blunt says Cillian Murphy 'smashed head open' during Oppenheimer filming thanks to her gift

The British star, 40, bought the Irish actor, 47, a 'fantastic pillow' over 'concern' about his sleep - but her kindness went awry

Lisa McLoughlin 5 February 2024

Emily Blunt has revealed how co-star Cillian Murphy "required medical attention" after she inadvertently caused him to "smash his head open" while filming Oppenheimer.

The actress, who played Murphy’s on-screen wife Kitty, explained how she bought the actor, 47, a "fantastic pillow" over "concern" about his sleep as he undertook the mammoth cinematic feat.

However, Blunt’s thoughtful gift ended up being more trouble than it was worth, revealing the Oscar nominated actor smashed his head on his bedside table after he missed his pillow.

She told The Sun: "He’s going to kill me for telling this story. I was very concerned about Cillian’s sleep when we started shooting because I felt he had a monumental undertaking with this role.

"I thought, like, ‘that’s a good start-of-shoot gift’.

"He told me he woke up in the middle of the night and he was so thrilled to fluff himself back to sleep on the pillow, that he sort of threw his head down back on to it and smashed his head open on the bedside table.

Cillian Murphy is nominated for best actor for his role in Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures

"He was luxuriating in it so much he smashed his head open. So, he came to set and they had to glue his head shut, all because of the pillow."

The 40-year-old star has been nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as the wife of Murphy’s character J Robert Oppenheimer.

Oppenheimer, the epic biopic about the atomic bomb creator from director Christopher Nolan, dominated with 13 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor for Robert Downey Jr. and one for best actor for Murphy, his first nod.

He has already won a Golden Globe for the role.

He faces Jeffrey Wright for American Fiction, Paul Giamatti, who has won plaudits for his performance as a cranky prep school teacher forced to remain on campus over the holidays with a troubled student in drama The Holdovers, Bradley Cooper for his Leonard Bernstein biopic Maestro and Colman Domingo for his performance as activist Bayard Rustin, adviser to Martin Luther King Jr.