James Woods’ Oppenheimer credit ‘kept quiet’ over fears his pro-Trump Twitter could threaten film’s success
‘I was gently suggested that I remain invisible,’ the actor said
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.James Woods has revealed he was advised to keep his Oppenheimer executive producer credit quiet over fears his pro-Donald Trump Twitter account could damage the film’s rollout.
The Hercules voice actor, 77, became an executive producer for the Christopher Nolan-directed movie, which chronicles the career of American theoretical physicist J Robert Oppenheimer, after buying rights to the non-fiction book American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin upon which the screenplay is based.
Oppenheimer went on to win seven categories at the 96th Academy Awards ceremony including Best Picture, Directing, Actor in a Leading Role (Cillian Murphy), Actor in a Supporting Role (Robert Downey Jr), Cinematography, Film Editing and Original Score and was the third highest grossing film of 2023.
Speaking to Megyn Kelly on her SiriusXM show of his silent involvement, Woods said: “When Oppenheimer came out, there was a discussion about my Twitter, and it was gently suggested that I basically remain invisible, which was painful.”
The actor claimed there were fears his online support for Donald Trump over the years meant there were reputational risks to him being publicly associated with Oppenheimer ahead of its release and its subsequent awards season campaign.
The actor has largely stayed out of the limelight and was dropped by his agent for his political views, with his last screen credit being two episodes of Andrew Dice Clay’s sitcom Dice in 2017.
“On the other hand, I’m a pragmatic person and I thought a lot of people put their effort into this,” Woods added.
“So I’m just going to be an invisible pariah because the people who are going to be voting for Oscars, which is very important to films because it helps with the financial reward and historical archive in which it rests forever, I don’t want to deprive those people.”
Woods said he did not want the Oppenheimer team to have to handle a “nutcase” making up stories about him and his right wing opinions.
“I’ve had a million of them said, they’re all lies,” he said.
“I don’t want that to happen and have the clickbait story be, ‘James Woods is the executive producer, we’re not going to watch that movie! So, I stepped back and basically took one for the team.
“I was not even invited to the Producers Guild of America awards. And I’m a producer.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments