Cillian Murphy Ate 'A lot of Cheese' to Decompress After Filming “Oppenheimer ”(Exclusive)

"Cheese is a great decompression,” added Murphy's 'Oppenheimer' costar Emily Blunt

Cillian Murphy celebrated the completion of Oppenheimer in a unique way.

For PEOPLE's annual Oscar portfolio, the Irish actor, 47, was joined by his costars Robert Downey Jr. and Emily Blunt for a wide-ranging interview where they dished on their on-set bond, clams, kitten nightmares and how they unwound after filming wrapped.

Murphy admits that he “did eat a lot of cheese” once he was done portraying scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer in the award-winning motion picture.

When asked why the dairy was his go-to, Blunt, 41, was happy to elaborate.

“Because he needed to decompress. Cheese is a great decompression,” said the actress, who starred as his wife Kitty in Oppenheimer.

Murphy, who previously said he indulged in cheese during the SAG-AFTRA strike, chimed in to note that he was already well stocked. “I got so much free cheese," he said.

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And what kind might the A-list actor have acquired? Only the best.

“Good cheese. Like an aged cheddar from cheddar companies,” Murphy quipped, adding that he “could take a whole wheel” of parmesan cheese if he “could get it through customs.”

The cast members also recalled where they were when they first learned of Oppenheimer’s Oscar nominations. Murphy had been in Cork City, Ireland having tea with his parents and wife when he got the call.

Blunt had just dropped off her youngest daughter, Violet Krasinski, 7, whom she shares with John Krasinski, off at roof-day in New York City — “which sounds ominous, but it's not,” she said.

The Devil Wears Prada alum says she “was aware that it was sort of around [that time] they'd be reading it out. And I came back down and John had it on his phone.” The couple celebrated “on the New York street and it was really pretty epic.”

Meanwhile, Downey, 58, who portrayed Lewis Strauss, chairman of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and adversary of Oppenheimer, had been napping.

Related: 'Oppenheimer' Cast: Meet the A-List Actors Starring in the Christopher Nolan Film

“I was dead asleep and I was having this nightmare that one of the kittens had taken one of my Nicorette wrappers and I was going to get in trouble again with the Mrs or my daughter Avri,” the Iron Man actor tells PEOPLE.

He clarified that he did, in fact, mean actual kittens and was not using a cute nickname for his kids.

“And then I was shaken awake by Susan to say, ‘Oh, Papi might get another little prize. Is he going to be happy now?’” he quipped.

The 96th Academy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will air live on Sunday, March 10, from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California, beginning at 7 p.m. ET.

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