Cillian Murphy says he knows what a meme is now

Cillian Murphy says he knows what a meme is now after admitting previously in an NME interview that he didn’t know what one was.

• READ MORE: ‘Oppenheimer’ review: Christopher Nolan’s mind-blowing biopic hits like a bomb to the brain

The Oppenheimer actor took part in a Variety ‘actors on actors’ interview with Barbie star Margot Robbie when she asked him if he knew what a meme was.

Robbie said to Murphy: “I have watched a lot of your things on YouTube, and it’s out there on the internet that you are not that aware of memes and things like that. First of all, is that true?”

He replied: “I have two teenage boys. I do know what a meme is. Now I know that there are memes about me not knowing what a meme is.”

Robbie went on to joke that “it’s a great meme” and described it as being “like the “Inception” of memes. A meme within a meme.”

Murphy replied that he “genuinely at the time…did not know” what a meme was. He added: “people forget that was a long time ago.”

Robbie then went on to admit she herself “might not have known back then what a meme” was, adding that she was “not that tech-savvy.”

Murphy continued: “Exactly. And I think children started that stuff, right? Now that it’s become this sort of meme that’s eating itself, I am aware. But it’s mostly because of people either sending it to me or showing me and saying, “Look, you gotta look at this.”

You can watch his interview with Robbie and the original NME meme interview below:

@nme

Throwback to the moment #CillianMurphy a) found out what a meme was, and b) learned there was one meme entirely dedicated to him. #cillianmurphyedit #cillianmurphysupremacy #film #tv #peakyblinders #fyp #foryoupage #meme

♬ original sound – NME

Elsewhere in the interview, Robbie said that she refused to move the release date for Barbie to make way for Oppenheimer at the cinema.

• READ MORE: ‘Barbie’ review: Greta Gerwig’s grown-up toy story is fantastic fun

Barbie became the highest-grossing movie of the year worldwide, and the highest-grossing film ever by a female director while Oppenheimer broke multiple cinema records this summer including becoming the fourth highest-grossing IMAX release of all time internationally and the highest grossing film biopic of all time.

Robbie asked Murphy if he thought “so many people were gonna watch a movie about the making of the atomic bomb” to which he laughed and replied: “Um…no! [Director] Christopher Nolan was always determined that it would be released in the summer as a big temple movie. That was always his plan. And he has this kind of superstition around that date, the 21st,” he continued, explaining that his films are released on or around that date.

Robbie then joked: “I mean, it’s a good day” before revealing that one of Oppenheimer’s producers then rang her and asked her to change the date of release of Barbie, something she refused.

She explained: “I remember one of the producers, [Charles] Roven called me ’cause we worked together on some other projects. He was like, ‘I think you guys should move your date.’ And I was like, ‘we’re not moving our date. If you’re scared to be up against us, then you move your date.’ And he’s like, ‘we’re not moving our date. I just think it’d be better for you to move.’ And I was like, ‘we’re not moving. I think this is a really great pairing actually. I think it’s like, it’s a perfect double billing. Oppenheimer and Barbie.’

Murphy then went on to joke, “It was a good instinct” to which Robbie replied: “Clearly the world agreed!”

The post Cillian Murphy says he knows what a meme is now appeared first on NME.