Oppenheimer is probably the best role in Cillian Murphy‘s career so far. Although the actor has already proven to be one of the best artists of his generation in other projects such as Peaky Blinders or 28 Days Later, and even in some other Christopher Nolan’s films such as Batman Begins, Inception or Dunkirk, J. Robert Oppenheimer was destined to change his life, and he could have played him way before Nolan’s successful biopic.

The story behind the creation of the atomic bomb and Project Manhattan has actually been told many times in the past, even on the small screen. Back in 2014, WGN America release a series titled Manhattan, which almost cast Murphy as the famous scientist.

Speaking with Vanity Fair, Manhattan writer Lila Byock (The Leftovers) and showrunner Sam Shaw (Castle Rock) revealed that Murphy was part of the list of names they considered for the part, which ended up being taken by Daniel London:

«We wanted Oppenheimer to feel both like he possessed a certain undeniable charisma, a presence onstage, but also that he was playing a different instrument. He needed to feel alien, or other, in some ways. A thousand percent, Cillian Murphy was on that list,» Shaw told the outlet.

Byock shared that some other interesting names were considered too, including The Bear star Ebon Moss-Bachrach and David Bowie, who actually played another popular scientist, Nikola Tesla, thanks to Christopher Nolan in The Prestige:

«When we were casting Oppenheimer, we went through a whole series of different ideas. There were actually some rock stars we considered.»

Related: Christopher Nolan Says There’s No Need for Viewers to Understand His Movies for a Very Good Reason

How Manhattan Compares to Oppenheimer

The first important detail about the 2014 series is that it never intended to be historically accurate. And even when Nolan’s film focuses way more in the main character than in history itself, the story tries to stay as close as possible to the actual facts.

Another big difference is pretty evident considering the titles of each project. Oppenheimer is presented as a biopic, showing how the life of the titular scientist led him to become the father of the atomic bomb. Manhattan, on the other hand, is about the project and its developing. The series starts with the reasserch made about atomic wheapons and ends with the Trinity test, while the movie shows how Cillian Murphy’s character prepares himself academically and goes way beyond the famous test.

In Manhattan, J. Robert Oppenheimer was in fact a recurring character, with the show mostly focusing on the fictional character named Dr. Frank Winter, played by John Benjamin Hickey, and the rest of the families that moved to Los Alamos, where Project Manhattan took place.

Manhattan also starred Olivia Williams, Ashley Zukerman, Rachel Brosnahan, Daniel Stern, Katja Herbers, Harry Lloyd, Alexia Fast, Christopher Denham, Michael Chermus, and William Petersen among many others. The series run for two seasons, with a total of 23 episodes.