Oppenheimer was a hit at the box office last summer as part of the cultural phenomenon known as “Barbenheimer.” And the historical thriller was a critical darling as well – racking up seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, in addition to Golden Globes, SAG Awards, Producers Guild Awards, and more.
While director Christopher Nolan and stars like Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, and Florence Pugh were all closely associated with the film, you may not have realized that famed actor and producer James Woods was an executive producer of the project. That, he says, was by design.
On Thursday’s show, Woods joined Megyn for his first interview in years and revealed why he was asked to keep quiet about Oppenheimer so as not to jeopardize the movie’s success.
Keeping Quiet
Woods, who has some four million followers on X, has been open about his support of Donald Trump and his conservative leanings for years now. He told Megyn the story of how he was dropped by his agent on the Fourth of July because of his politics, and he said he realized a “second act” would be needed.
Woods was a quiet but integral part of Oppenheimer becoming the success that it was because he bought the rights to the book that inspired the film and approached producer Charles Roven about getting Nolan on board to adapt it. He said the deal was sealed with a handshake and the rest is history.
When the time came to promote the film, however, Woods said it was “gently suggested” that he stay out of the spotlight. “When Oppenheimer came out, there was a discussion about my Twitter, and it was gently suggested that I basically remain invisible, which was painful,” he shared.
But he also admitted that he understood why the request was being made. “On the other hand, I’m a pragmatic person and I thought, a lot of people put their effort into this, so I’m just going to be an invisible pariah,” Woods recalled.
He said he feared “some nutcase would come out of the woodwork and fabricate some ridiculous story about me” that would ultimately prevent the movie getting the awards and recognition it deserved. “I don’t want to deprive those people,” he told Megyn. “I stepped back and basically took one for the team.”
His involvement was so under the radar that he said he wasn’t even invited to the Producers Guild Awards – though he did get the last laugh. “By the way, we won,” he noted.
Conservatives in Hollywood
While Woods admitted that there are not many people who are openly right-of-center in Hollywood, there is a subculture of conservatives. “I went to an opening for a friend of mine who is kind of into the business. It was at the Academy Theater… and the place was mobbed,” he shared. “Half the people in the room came up to me and went, ‘I just want you to know I’m with you, but I just don’t want to say anything.’ And I said, ‘Don’t say anything because people really are dangerous.'”
Woods said casting directors look up the social media history of actors before hiring them to ensure there are no ‘controversial’ tweets or follows. “One of my friends… who is a very patriotic, great American… said, ‘Being just moderately conservative in this country… today is like being gay in the 1950s. It’s almost like you have to whisper,'” he said.
That, Woods said, is what is wrong with the world today. “This is the United States. You don’t have to whisper that you are going to vote for the most popular person in the country right now [Trump], in terms of the polls, to be the next president of the United States,” he said. “You actually don’t have to apologize for exercising your First Amendment rights, and we have got to stop doing that.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Woods by tuning in to episode 848 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.