Cillian Murphy’s Cheese Eating Habit Helped Him ‘Decompress’ From ‘Oppenheimer’ Stress

Cillian Murphy is apparently an emotional eater.

The “Oppenheimer” star said he used cheese to cope with the intensity of the atomic bomb biopic, where he played enigmatic nuclear physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer.

During an interview with his co-stars for People’s Oscar portfolio, Murphy’s on-screen wife Emily Blunt joked about how his “Oppenheimer” salary was just “enough to pay” for his substantial dairy habit.

“I did eat a lot of cheese,” the Irish actor admitted in the interview, which came out Wednesday. “That is a true fact.”

Explaining why Murphy found comfort in Brie and its brethren, Blunt said, “Because he needed to decompress. Cheese is a great decompression.”

This wasn’t the first time Murphy shared his fondness for fromage.

During a November screening for the Christopher Nolan Oscar-frontrunner, the “Peaky Blinders” star said he coped with last year’s Screen Actors Guild strike by hanging out at home eating dairy.

During the interview with People, Murphy admitted the Q&A moment last fall resulted in him getting sent “so much free cheese.”

“Good cheese. Like an aged cheddar from cheddar companies,” he grinned.

Murphy might be having some celebratory snacks if he wins at next month’s Oscars, which are set for Sunday, March 10.

Having already swept this year’s Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards, he is a front-runner for the Best Actor category at the Academy Award.

Support HuffPost

Our 2024 Coverage Needs You

At HuffPost, we believe that everyone needs high-quality journalism, but we understand that not everyone can afford to pay for expensive news subscriptions. That is why we are committed to providing deeply reported, carefully fact-checked news that is freely accessible to everyone.

Whether