FilmWeek Feature: Austin Cross’s Interview With Oppenheimer’s Casting Director John Papsidera

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 “Oppenheimer” casting director John Papsidera joins Austin Cross to talk about casting the team who built the atomic bomb with modern Hollywood actors and what went into narrowing down who was right for the iconic roles.

FilmWeek Feature: Austin Cross’s Interview With Oppenheimer’s Casting Director John Papsidera

 “Oppenheimer” casting director John Papsidera joins Austin Cross to talk about casting the team who built the atomic bomb with modern Hollywood actors and what went into narrowing down who was right for the iconic roles.

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Christopher Nolan’s three-hour epic about the United States atomic bomb program features a huge cast of notable Hollywood character actors playing real larger-than-life figures. No one knows the value of a strong actor with a familiar face better than the man tasked with matching the actor to the role, casting director John Papsidera .

A veteran at the job, Papsidera has filled out the room of programs like “Yellowstone” and “The Offer” (about the making of “The Godfather”), as well as a frequent collaborator of “Oppenheimer” director Christopher Nolan. With all those characters how do you even begin to start casting? According to Papsidera, “You start with the big pieces – the tentpole characters – and then build around them”. Today on FilmWeek, John speaks with Austin Cross about what it took to reanimate characters from the past with modern Hollywood actors.