It seems like every day now there is new casting news for Christopher Nolan’sOppenheimer, and today is no exception, asDrake & Joshstar Josh Peck has been cast in the epic biographical thriller.
Before joiningUniversal’s Oppenheimer, Peck began his career as a child actor in the late 1990s and early 2000s before finding his breakout role on thehit Nickelodeon sitcomDrake & Josh. Since then, the actor would go on to appear in several movies likeDrillbit Taylor,the Red Dawnremake, andBattle of the Year, in addition to starring in Disney Plus' original seriesTurner & Hooch, which is based off of the 1989 film of the same name.
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Following themore recent casting announcements of Jason Clarkeand Michael Angarano, Variety now confirms that Peck will play Kenneth Bainbridge, a scientist who was involved in the Manhattan Project, the codename for America’s efforts to develop atomic weapons during World War II. In addition to Peck’s role, the impressive cast features Cillian Murphy in the lead role as Robert J. Oppenheimer, the main theoretical physicist who contributed to the creation of the atom bomb, Matt Damon as Lieutenant General Leslie Groves, the director of the Manhattan Project, Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss, the chairman of Atomic Energy Commission, Florence Pugh as Communist Party member Jean Tatlock, Emily Blunt as Oppenheimer’s wife, Katherine Oppenheimer Vissering, Benny Safdie as Hungarian Physicist Edward Teller, and Josh Hartnett as nuclear scientist Ernest Lawrence. Rami Malek, Dane DeHaan, Jack Quaid, Matthew Modine, and many more have been cast in undisclosed roles.
Nolan will write the script for the film, which is being adapted from the 2005 Pulitzer Prize winnerAmerican Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer.It will mark the first time the director is collaborating with Universal Pictures following his departure with Warner Bros. last year.Production onOppenheimerhas been underway now for a few weeks and will likely wrap up sometime this summer.
Coming from a comedic background, it will be interesting to see what Peck can bring to a dramatic role inOppenheimer, a film filled with some of Hollywood’s greatest talents. While this casting choice may come as surprise, Nolan’s decision tocast popstar Harry Stylesin 2017’sDunkirkshocked many people at first, but once the film was released, audiences were impressed when they witnessed Styles flex his acting chops on the big screen. So, there’s no doubt Peck can do the same inOppenheimer.
