Cillian Murphy says Christopher Nolan sent him photos of David Bowie as inspiration for his 'Oppenheimer' character's look

• Cillian Murphy told MTV Movies that his "Oppenheimer" silhouette was inspired by David Bowie.
• Murphy said that director Christopher Nolan sent him photos of Bowie as references for his character.

Cillian Murphy said that "Oppenheimer" director Christopher Nolan sent him photos of David Bowie as references for the titular character's look in the film.

"We worked very closely with our costume designer to design the clothes," Murphy said in a recent interview with MTV Movies. "And particularly, I wanted to get his silhouette. He was very fragile, he was very, very slim and I wanted to get that silhouette right."

"Oppenheimer," directed and written by Nolan, stars Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American theoretical physicist known as the father of the atomic bomb.

The high-stakes thriller is based on Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin's Pulitzer Prize-winning biography "American Prometheus." The movie also chronicles the decisions that led to the detonation of the first atomic bomb and the fallout of that world-changing invention.

To play such a stressful character, Murphy lost significant weight for the part. Aside from Oppenheimer's physical appearance, Murphy also sported a porkpie hat and loose, but tailored outfits.

As it turns out, the costumes were inspired by Bowie's Thin White Duke persona and the aesthetics of the famed musician's "Young Americans" album, released in 1975.

"Chris sent me a couple of shots a day of Bowie, certain periods in Bowie's career, like Thin White Duke and around 'Young Americans' time," Murphy said. "He had these massive trousers and he was so emaciated but so fucking cool. So we used that, weirdly, for some of Oppenheimer's trousers."

Murphy's physical transformation for "Oppenheimer" has been the subject of discussion in the time leading up to the film's release.

He gave insight into his preparation in an interview with the New York Times, saying: "I love acting with my body, and Oppenheimer had a very distinct physicality and silhouette, which I wanted to get right."

"I had to lose quite a bit of weight, and we worked with the costume and tailoring; he was very slim, almost emaciated, existed on martinis and cigarettes," Murphy said. "He had these really bright eyes and I wanted to give him this wide-eyed look, so we worked on his silhouette and expressions a lot before starting."

The actor also told The Guardian that he was "running on crazy energy" during the shoot and "went over a threshold to where I was not worrying about food or anything."

"I was so in it, a state of hyper something," Murphy said. "But it was good because the character was like that. He never ate."

The star added that he doesn't advise for others to take the measures he did. Murphy also declined to specify how much weight he shed for "Oppenheimer."

Murphy's intense focus on his role, and diet, meant that he skipped out on daily dinners with the cast of "Oppenheimer."

"We invited Cillian to dinner every night, and he never went," costar Matt Damon told Entertainment Tonight, with Emily Blunt adding that Murphy instead ate "one almond most nights or a little slice of apple."

"Oppenheimer" will be released in theaters Friday.