Florence Pugh Says the Camera Broke During Her Oppenheimer Sex Scene With Cillian Murphy: ‘We Were Both Naked’

By Nico Grey · Published Nov 8, 2026, 3:02 AM (BKK)

Florence Pugh has dropped the most awkward behind-the-scenes confession of the whole Oppenheimer era. In the middle of her sex scene with Cillian Murphy, the camera broke.

And yes, they were both naked when it happened.

“In the middle of our sex scene, the camera broke. No one knows this, but it did,” Pugh said. “Our camera broke when we were both naked, and it was not ideal timing.”

Where Florence Pugh Told the Camera Broke Story

Pugh told the story at a Universal panel for Oppenheimer in late January 2024, sitting alongside Cillian Murphy and Emily Blunt. Jamie Dornan moderated.

The moment was reported at the time by Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, People and NME.

“There Weren’t Many Cameras”

The timing got worse. According to the panel quotes reported by People and NME, there weren’t many cameras on hand, and one was already in the shop being fixed.

Pugh said director Christopher Nolan turned and asked someone, “Where’s the other camera?” Bad news for whoever had to answer him.

Naked on a Closed Set, Waiting for a Repair

So the two stars waited it out together.

“Cillian and I are in this room together. It’s a closed set, so we’re both holding our bodies like this,” Pugh said, wrapping her arms around herself, as THR described.

Then a camera technician, a “camera surgeon,” as she put it, came in to fix it.

Florence Pugh Turned It Into a Lesson

Most people would want the floor to swallow them. Pugh started asking questions.

“I’m like, well, this is my moment to learn. ‘So tell me, what’s wrong with this camera?’” she recalled, per Variety. “You just make your moments. I’m like, ‘What’s going on with the shutter here, buddy?’”

The audience laughed. Pugh said Nolan then explained the problem: the light was coming in wrong.

“We Were Lucky to Be There”

She didn’t tell it as a horror story. She used it to praise the crew.

“It was just crazy that every person on this set was so knowledgeable and was so ready to make this kind of a movie that there was no dull moment,” Pugh said. “It was all amazing. It felt like we were lucky to be there every second of the day.”

In Oppenheimer, Pugh played Jean Tatlock, who was in a relationship with Murphy’s J. Robert Oppenheimer before and during his marriage to Kitty Oppenheimer, played by Blunt. The film went on to lead the 2024 Oscars with 13 nominations, Variety noted.

Why the Florence Pugh Oppenheimer Sex Scene Story Is Viral Again

The clip is doing numbers on X all over again. A post from TheForgexx has pulled in roughly 1.4 million views, and a StarletVibes clip of the moment has racked up about 31.9 million views at the time of writing.

Nearly three years later, the line still lands: a broken camera, two naked movie stars and Florence Pugh asking about the shutter.

For more on her career, from Oppenheimer to We Live in Time and East of Eden, see our Florence Pugh hub.

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