Podcast Episode 13: A Chat With Ellen Mirojnick, The Costume Designer For Oppenheimer

First of all, Ellen Mirojack looks great for her age. She’s 74 years young and I hope I can look that great when, God-willing, I’m 74. This was a memorable interview, maybe because I’m in awe of anything designed fashion-wise for the runway or for the silver screen. Ellen has been in the business of designing costumes for film and TV for over thirty years, and she’s known for inspiring men’s fashion in the early 90s, when she created bold patterned ties, colorful suspenders, and crisp suits for the 1987 Wall Street film. After that film, men saw how sharply Michael Douglas’ character Gordon Gecko dressed, so they started dressing just like him.

Cillian Murphy playing J. Robert Oppenheimer | Photo Credit: Universal Pictures

Ellen’s resume includes from Fatal Attraction (1987), Wall Street (1987), Basic Instinct (1992), Speed (1994), What Women Want (2000), The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), By The Sea (2015), The Greatest Showman (2017), Bridgerton (2020), to Oppenheimer (2023).

“It was the most spectacular and fulfilling collaboration I have ever experienced,” says Ellen of designing the costumes for Oppenheimer. In this podcast episode, we talk about how she got into costume design, what a costume designer does, and her process for Oppeheimer.

Photo Credit: Universal Pictures

Writer and Director Christopher Nolan on set with actor Robert Downey, Jr. | Photo Credit: Universal Pictures.

Oppeheimer is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin. Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, who directed Tenet, Dunkirk, Interstellar, Inception and The Dark Knight trilogy. His films have earned more than $5 billion at the global box office and have been awarded 11 Oscars and 36 nominations, including two Best Picture nominations.

 It was filmed in a combination of IMAX® 65mm and 65mm large-format film photography including, for the first time ever, sections in IMAX® black and white analogue photography.

Only two characters in Oppenheimer wore hats in the film, Albert Einstein and J. Robert Oppenheimer | Photo Credit: Universal Pictures

The cast includes Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey, Jr., Matt Damon, Rami Malek, Florence Pugh, Benny Safdie, Michael Angarano, Josh Hartnett and Kenneth Branagh. It was also produced by Emma Thomas, Charles Roven and Christopher Nolan.