Cillian Murphy was considered to play Oppenheimer in 2014 TV show

Oppenheimer writer-director Christopher Nolan wasn't the first person to have the bright idea of casting Cillian Murphy as theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer.

The Irish actor came close to portraying the so-called "father of the atomic bomb" almost a decade ago on the 2014 TV show Manhattan, which covered much of the same historical ground as Nolan's blockbuster biopic during its two-season run on WGN America.

In a new Vanity Fair article, Manhattan showrunner Sam Shaw and writer Lila Byock discussed some of the actors they considered casting as Oppenheimer. The list included the singer Beck, The Bear star Ebon Moss-Barach, and Murphy. "A thousand percent, Cillian Murphy was on that list," said Shaw. The role eventually went to Minority Report and Old Joy actor Daniel London.

Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures Cillian Murphy in 'Oppenheimer'

To be fair to Nolan, his interest in casting Murphy as Oppenheimer might have predated that of Shaw and Brock. The director first worked with Murphy on 2005's Batman Begins, picking him to portray the Scarecrow after deciding the 28 Days Later actor wasn't right for the role of Bruce Wayne.

"When we had our first conversation I think both of us knew that you weren't going to wind up playing Batman," Nolan said earlier this year, speaking with Murphy for EW's Summer Movie Preview. "But I really wanted to get on set with you, I wanted to get you on film. We did those screen tests very elaborately, on 35mm, with a little set. There was just an electric atmosphere in the crew when you started to perform. We did two scenes — there was a Bruce Wayne scene and a Batman scene — and I made sure that executives came down and watched what you were doing on set. Everybody was so excited by watching you perform that when I then said to them, 'Okay, Christian Bale is Batman, but what about Cillian to play Scarecrow?' there was no dissent. All the previous Batman villains had been played by huge movie stars: Jack Nicholson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Carrey, that kind of thing. That was a big leap for them and it really was purely on the basis of that test. So that's how you got to play Scarecrow."

After Batman Begins, the pair reteamed for 2008's The Dark Knight, 2010's Inception, 2012's The Dark Knight Rises, and 2017's Dunkirk, with Nolan ultimately calling Murphy up to offer him the lead role in Oppenheimer.

"It was one of the best days of my life, I'll tell you that, when you called me," the actor said to Nolan, speaking before the start of the current SAG-AFTRA strike. "I'll always turn up for Chris, no matter what the part is, but, secretly, it's a dream to play a lead part. The thing was, I had no idea. There was no preamble or anything, I just got the call. So it was incredibly exciting, and daunting, and terrifying, all at the same time."

Oppenheimer is in theaters now.

Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.

Related content:

• How fear of nuclear war (and Sting) inspired Oppenheimer

• Yes, Christopher Nolan really prints his scripts on red paper

• Christopher Nolan takes us inside creating Oppenheimer's atomic bomb explosion

• Matt Damon told his wife he would take a break — unless Christopher Nolan called

• Why Christopher Nolan wrote Oppenheimer script in the first person

• Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy avoided cast dinners because his brain was 'too full'

• From Batman to Oppenheimer: Christopher Nolan and Cillian Murphy discuss their epic movie partnership