James Woods says he was told to keep quiet about his work on “Oppenheimer”
It was "painful," the "Virgin Suicides" actor says, who was credited as an EP on the Oscar winning film.
When you think about Barbieheimer, does James Woods come to mind?
The Hard Way actor was an executive producer on one of last summer's biggest movies, Oppenheimer, which went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture at the Academy Awards ceremony on March 10. But Woods said that he was told to keep quiet about his involvement because of his political support for Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump.
"When Oppenheimer came out," Woods told Megyn Kelly on her SiriusXM show, "there was a discussion about my Twitter [account], and it was gently suggested that I basically remain invisible, which was painful."
Related: Josh Hartnett reveals 'unhelpful' advice Matt Damon gave him on Oppenheimer: 'Thanks, Matt'
J. Countess/WireImage
James Woods says he was told to keep quiet about his role in "Oppenheimer"The veteran actor said he understood that his politics could cause some to avoid his projects.
"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 said. "Because the people who are going to be voting for Oscars, which is very important for a film to get Oscars, because it does help with the financial reward and the historical archive in which it will rest forever — ‘Academy Award-winning best picture Oppenheimer.' I don't want to deprive those people, I don't want to have some nutcase come out of the woodwork, fabricate some ridiculous story about me… I've had a million of them said, they're all lies. I don't want that to happen and have the clickbait story be 'James Woods, the executive producer of Oppenheimer.'"
Some people, he said, would say, "We're not gonna watch that movie!"
Sign up for Entertainment Weekly to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.'s free daily newsletter
Related: Emily Blunt jabs Barbie at Oscars after Oppenheimer won Barbenheimer rivalry in awards race
Per Variety, the actor was involved in the film after he purchased the rights to American Prometheus, the book authored by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, which was the foundation for the script penned by writer/director Christopher Nolan.
"So, you know," Woods said, "I just, I stepped back and, basically, you know, took one for the team."
Woods said that he wasn't invited to the Producers Guild Awards, where the biographical thriller about the physicist behind the atomic bomb was recognized. Producers Charles Roven, Emma Thomas, and Nolan were named as producers there, at the Oscars, and elsewhere, although IMDb names eight producers, including Woods.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.
