Hollyoaks fans stunned to see familiar face in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer: ‘Absolutely did not expect that’

Christopher Nolan’s epic was full of unexpected cameos

Hollyoaks fans were stunned to see a familiar face in Oppenheimer.

Christopher Nolan’s historical epic, which stars Cillian Murphy as “father of the atomic bomb” J Robert Oppenheimer, landed in cinemas on Friday (21 July).

Since its release, the film has received hugely positive reviews and achieved a near-perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Follow along with all updates related to Barbie and Oppenheimer here…

The cast is led by Murphy, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, and Robert Downey Jr.

There are, however, a number of recognisable faces who crop up throughout the film, including No Time to Die star Rami Malek, Jack Quaid of The Boys, Disney alum Josh Peck, Gary Oldman, Casey Affleck, and Kenneth Branagh.

One actor who stunned UK viewers in particular was Guy Burnet.

Burnet, 39, was a mainstay on the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks between 2002 and 2008. During his time on the programme, he played Craig Dean.

Ewan McGregor and Guy Burnet in 2015’s ‘Mortdecai’ (Universal)

Craig was a central character in the long-running series, and the love interest of John Paul McQueen (played by James Sutton).

In Oppenheimer, Burnet makes an appearance as British physicist George Eltenton.

Fans of Hollyoaks were shocked to see Burnet on screen in the film and shared their surprise on Twitter.

One person wrote: “Absolutely did not expect Craig from Hollyoaks to pop up in Oppenheimer.”

Another added: “Was that Craig from Hollyoaks in Oppenheimer?”

“Sill obsessed with the Oppenheimer cast being mega A-list stars and Craig from peak-era Holloyaks,” said a third person.

Another wrote: “Every Tom, Dick and Harry was in Oppeneheimer. Craig from Hollyoaks in the big leagues now.”

“My highlight of Oppenheimer. IYKYK [If you know you know,” said another, accompanied by a photo of Burnet in character as Craig on the series.

Oppenheimer (AP)

Someone else added: “Oppenheimer is absolutely breathtaking and, hopefully, the beginning of Craig from Hollyoaks’ renaissance.”

While Oppenheimer’s critical ratings have surpassed its box office rival Barbie, Greta Gerwig’s movie – which opened on the same day as Nolan’s drama – has outperformed the biopic financially.

With Barbie, Gerwig has broken the domestic box office record for a female director.

Surpassing the $103.3m domestic opening of Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman and the $153m weekend opening of 2019’s Captain Marvel, the film is on track to make $155m from its opening weekend in North America.

You can read The Independent’s five-star review of Barbie here, and four-star review of Oppenheimer here.