James Woods told Megyn Kelly on Thursday that he “made a sacrifice for his team” by keeping most of his executive producer credits on Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” under wraps amid concerns over his pro-Donald Trump Twitter account.
Woods appeared on SiriusXM’s “The Megyn Kelly Show” on Thursday for his first interview with Kelly in years. Woods’ acting career has been largely on hiatus in recent years, and today he’s known for his 4 million followers on Twitter and his outspoken support for the former president.
During the conversation, Woods went into more detail about his role in Oppenheimer, a connection many may not be aware of, as Woods has remained largely silent while the film has been smashing box office records and continues to be nominated for awards in 2023. Woods attended the Oscars and revealed that he served as an executive producer on the film. Oppenheimer ultimately won Best Picture.
Woods recounted a previously told story about being fired by his agent on the Fourth of July.
Woods, who claims that her agent told her at the time that she was “being patriotic,” last appeared in a live-action film in 2017 and has worked sporadically as a voice actress since then.
Woods told Kelly that he needed to embrace his “second life” after Hollywood’s political leanings began to affect his career. What Woods did was to buy the rights to Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin’s “American Prometheus.” The book tells the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer and the development and construction of the atomic bomb. Woods and his fellow producers asked producer Charles Roven to get Christopher Nolan to adapt the book, and it was all done with a handshake.
But when it came time for awards voting, Woods was “politely asked” to keep his return a secret.
“When Oppenheimer came out, there was a discussion about my Twitter and it was gently suggested that I should basically keep a low profile, which was tough. On the one hand, I’m a practical person and I felt that with so many people putting so much energy into this, I’d just be an invisible outcast, because those are the people who vote for the Oscars,” Woods recalled.
He said he ultimately decided it was best for him as a producer to remain silent due to publicity for the other people involved.
“I don’t want to take away rights from these people, I don’t want weirdos coming.
“I don’t want someone to just come out of nowhere and make up some ridiculous story about me. It’s been said a million times before and it’s all lies. I don’t want to do that. I don’t want some clickbait story to say, ‘We’re not going to see the movie because James Woods is executive producer!’ So I stepped aside and made a sacrifice for my team,” he said, adding, “That’s not what my father bled for.”
Among the events Woods ended up not being invited to were the Producers Guild Awards.
Woods said he was shocked by what he called modern Hollywood’s political bias against conservatives like him, and cited outspoken liberals like Whoopi Goldberg and Rob Reiner as friends. He said he would next try to produce a film for his longtime friend and collaborator Oliver Stone.
“I have no idea why there is such a vicious underlying cancer that has destroyed our business,” Woods said.
Watch Woods’ full interview on “The Megyn Kelly Show.”