EntertainmentMoviesDrama MoviesOppenheimerCillian Murphy wins Best Actor at the 2024 Oscars for OppenheimerWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
EntertainmentMoviesDrama MoviesOppenheimerCillian Murphy wins Best Actor at the 2024 Oscars for OppenheimerWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Universal Pictures)
The win isn’t a huge surprise as Murphy has been the one to beat this awards season, picking up the BAFTA and Golden Globe in the lead-up to the Oscars. However, it does mark the first win for the acclaimed actor, whose been much lauded for his previous performances in everything fromDunkirkto Peaky Blinders.
In Oppenheimer, he plays J. Robert Oppenheimer, the theoretical physicist who helped develop the first nuclear weapons during World War Two. Nicknamed the “father of the atomic bomb” for his role in the Manhattan Project, the film tracks his life from his early scientific work right through to the hearings he faced over his security clearance in the 1950s.
Murphy beat Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers), Bradley Cooper (Maestro), Colman Domingo (Rustin), and Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction) to win the award. In his speech, he thanked his fellow nominees, as well as Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan for his faith in him.
The pair had collaborated many times before inThe Dark Knightfilms,Inception, and Dunkirk, but this is Murphy’s first leading role for the director. “When we got into the edit suite and were putting the performance together, and seeing the truth of it, I was absolutely blown away,“Nolan previously told us of Murphy’s performance in the film.
For more on all things Oscars, check out ourOscars 2024 live blog, as well as our guide to thebest Oscar-winning moviesof all time.
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