How Cillian Murphy and Florence Pugh’s ‘Oppenheimer’ sex scene got awkwardly interrupted: ‘Not ideal’

It was an explosive moment on set. 

During a Universal panel with the “Oppenheimer” stars and director Christopher Nolan, Florence Pugh, 28, revealed that she and co-star Cillian Murphy, 47, were filming their sex scene when they were awkwardly interrupted.

“In the middle of our sex scene, the camera broke,” she said. “No one knows this, but it did. Our camera broke when we were both naked, and it was not ideal timing.”

In the film, Pugh played Jean Tatlock, J. Robert Oppenheimer’s (Murphy) Communist lover that he cheated on his wife Kitty (Emily Blunt) with. 

The story follows Oppenheimer, “the father of the atomic bomb,” and a group of scientists as they rush to complete the infamous Manhattan Project, which culminated with the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945.

Florence Pugh said that she and Cillian Murphy were filming their sex scene when the camera broke. ©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection

The cast of “Oppenheimer” includes Florence Pugh (from left), Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr. Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

It’s leading the race for the 2024 Oscars, with a whopping 13 nominations — including Best Picture, Best Director for Nolan, Best Actor for Murphy, Best Supporting Actor for Robert Downey Jr. and Best Supporting Actress for Blunt.

Pugh, who did not earn a nomination, said she made the best out of the blunder on set. 

” ‘This is my moment to learn,’ ” and recalled saying at the time. “ ‘So tell me, what’s wrong with this camera?’

“You just make your moments,” she added. “I’m like, ‘What’s going on with the shutter here, buddy?’ ”

Emily Blunt and Cillian Murphy — who both got Oscar nominations for “Oppenheimer” — with Florence Pugh. Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

The “Oppenheimer” sex scene was previously condemned by India in June 2023. Indian officials slammed the scene as “a scathing attack on Hinduism” due to Jean (Pugh) at one point walking over to a bookshelf and grabbing a copy of the Hindu poem “Bhagavad Gita.”

Oppenheimer (Murphy) reads the line: “I am become Death, destroyer of worlds.”

“It has come to our notice that the movie ‘Oppenheimer’ contains a scene which makes a scathing attack on Hinduism,” tweeted Uday Mahurkar, an information commissioner for the Indian government, at the time.

Florence Pugh (from left), Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr. at the “Oppenheimer” premiere. AFP via Getty Images

“As per social media reports, a scene in the movie shows a woman [making] a man read Bhagwad Geeta aloud while getting over him and doing sexual intercourse.” 

“She is holding Bhagwad Geeta in one hand, and the other hand seems to be adjusting the position of their reproductive organs,” Mahurkar continued. “The Bhagwad Geeta is one of the most revered scriptures of Hinduism. Geeta has been the inspiration for countless sanyasis, brahmacharis and legends who live a life of self-control and perform selfless noble deeds.”

The famous “Oppenheimer” sex scene has been controversial. AP

A shot of Pugh topless was also censored in places such as India and the Middle East.

The scene is a departure for Nolan, 53, whose movies are typically cold and sexless. 

“I’m worried Christopher Nolan didn’t know what sex is and he had the actors stand naked pressing their thumbs to each others foreheads,” one viewer joked. 

Nolan, for his part, told Insider: “When you look at Oppenheimer’s life and you look at his story, that aspect of his life, the aspect of his sexuality, his way with women, the charm that he exuded, it’s an essential part of his story.”