Cillian Murphy has won his first Academy Award for his lead role in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer.
It was Murphy's first-ever nomination at the Oscars, and there was very little doubt of his victory after winning the BAFTA, Golden Globe and SAG Award in the last few months.
"Thank you so much to every single crew member, every single cast member on Oppenheimer, you guys carried me through. All my fellow nominees, I remain in awe of you guys. Truly," Murphy said after picking up the award.
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"It's been the most satisfying journey," he continued, thanking Nolan and producer Emma Thomas ("I owe you more than I can say") as well as the whole team of the movie.
"I'm a very proud Irish man standing here right now," he said with a smile.
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"We made a film about the man who created the atomic bomb, and for better or for worse, we're all living in Oppenheimer's world, so, I would like to dedicate this to the peacemakers everywhere," he concluded, embraced by a standing ovation.
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Before announcing the winner, previous Oscar winner Sir Ben Kingsley introduced Murphy's nomination and praised his performance, calling it "masterful" and "with layers of humanity".
"It's riveting to watch," he said.
Murphy beat out his fellow nominees Bradley Cooper (Maestro), Colman Domingo (Rustin), Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers) and Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction).
Oppenheimer focuses on physicist J Robert Oppenheimer, known as the "father" of the Atomic Bomb. The movie grossed almost $1 billion worldwide, making it Nolan's third-biggest movie ever and also the highest-grossing biopic of all time ahead of Bohemian Rhapsody.
Related: Christopher Nolan wins his first-ever Academy Award for Oppenheimer
Murphy is one of Nolan's usual collaborators, having appeared in The Dark Knight trilogy, Inception and Dunkirk. However, this was the first time the British filmmaker offered him the lead role.
Talking to Digital Spy, Murphy revealed he had no hesitation in taking the role.
"I've said yes to him from the beginning and will continue to say yes. Any actor would want to work with Chris, no matter what the part," he said.
"But I didn't know it was going to be this huge, ginormous, terrifying part. When it's Chris, he's a genius, and I don't throw that word around, but I think it definitely qualifies."
Oppenheimer is available to rent or buy now from Prime Video, iTunes, Microsoft Store and more in the UK.
Mireia (she/her) has been working as a movie and TV journalist for over eight years. Based in the UK, she is a former deputy movies editor at Digital Spy, and previously worked for the Spanish magazine Fotogramas. Mireia's work has been published in other outlets such as Esquire and Elle in Spain, and WeLoveCinema and GamesRadar+ in the UK. She is also a published author, having written the essay Biblioteca Studio Ghibli: Nicky, la aprendiz de bruja about Hayao Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service.
During her years as a freelance journalist and film critic, Mireia has covered festivals around the world and has interviewed high-profile talents such as Kristen Stewart, Ryan Gosling, Jake Gyllenhaal and many more. She's also taken part in juries such as the FIPRESCI jury at Venice Film Festival and the short film jury at Kingston International Film Festival in London. LinkedIn
