Cillian Murphy Says 'Oppenheimer' Sex Scenes with Florence Pugh Were 'Awkward' but 'Vital' for Plot

"No one likes doing them ... but sometimes you have to get on with it," the actor told "GQ" of filming sex scenes

WARNING: Spoilers for Oppenheimer below.

Cillian Murphy had no issues filming the sex scenes in Oppenheimer, though he admits it wasn't the most comfortable experience.

The Irish actor, 47, spoke with GQ about portraying Manhattan Project physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer in the newly released explosive biopic from Christopher Nolan. In the interview, he was asked about whether he felt his sex scenes with Florence Pugh were needed to tell the story.

"I think they were vital in this in this movie," Murphy answered. "I think the relationship that he has with [Pugh's character] Jean Tatlock is one of the most crucial emotional parts of the film. I think if they're key to the story then they're worthwhile."

But, he clarified, "Listen, no one likes doing them, they're the most awkward possible part of our job. But sometimes you have to get on with it."

Oppenheimer is rated R for "some sexuality, nudity and language." It's the first of Nolan's films to include sex scenes; the director is known for movies like the Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, Tenet, Dunkirk, Interstellar and more, many of which feature Murphy in supporting roles.

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Related: Emily Blunt Jokes About Being Distracted by Cillian Murphy’s ‘Ocean Eyes’ on 'Oppenheimer' Set (Exclusive)

Asked in an interview with Insider published last month about whether he was nervous how audiences might react to sex scenes in the movie, Nolan, 52, said, "Any time you're challenging yourself to work in areas you haven't worked in before, you should be appropriately nervous and appropriately careful and planned and prepared.”

"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," he added.

In a recent interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, Murphy explained that his sex scenes with Little Women actress Pugh, 27, were "written deliberately" by Nolan and not included for a "gratuitous" reason.

"[Christopher] knew that those scenes would get the movie the rating that it got. And I think when you see it, it's so f----ing powerful. And they're not gratuitous. They're perfect. And Florence is just amazing," Murphy said.

In the blockbuster, Pugh portrays Jean Tatlock, the titular scientist’s mistress. And per The Hollywood Reporter, places with strict censorship laws, like the Middle East and India, edited in a CGI dress on Pugh for her nude scenes. (In one unedited scene, Jean is topless as she sits across from Oppenheimer in a hotel room. However, in the altered version, she is covered with a computer-generated black dress.)

Related: Robert Downey Jr. Says Cillian Murphy Made Biggest Sacrifice of Any Actor He's Ever Seen for 'Oppenheimer' (Exclusive)

THR added that nudity is forbidden in cinema in the Middle East and in India, and children under 12 years old are expected to have a parent present for projects with a UA rating.

Since Oppenheimer’s release on Friday, Indian officials have also spoken out about Pugh and Murphy’s sex scenes in the historical drama, calling them “a scathing attack on Hinduism." On Saturday, Save Culture Save India (SCSI) Foundation’s Uday Mahurkar expressed his feelings toward the film on social media.

“It has come to our notice that the movie Oppenheimer contains a scene which make a scathing attack on Hinduism. As per social media reports, a scene in the movie shows a woman makes 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 hands seems to be adjusting the position of their reproductive organs,” Mahurkar penned to Nolan in part, in a lengthy Twitter post.

He went on to say that “The Bhagwad Geeta is one of the most revered scriptures of Hinduism,” and those who practice it “do not know the motivation and logic behind this unnecessary scene on life of a scientist.”

Mahurkar was not alone in his disapproval. Variety stated that India’s minister for information and broadcasting, Anurag Thakur, called for Pugh and Murphy’s intimate moments to be removed from the film.

Oppenheimer is in theaters now.

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