Cillian Murphy received the award for Best Actor in a Leading Role at the 2024 Oscars for his performance in Oppenheimer.
“I’m a little overwhelmed,” Murphy, 47, said in his acceptance speech on Sunday, March 10. “Thank you to the Academy, Chris Nolan and Emma Thomas. It’s been the wildest, most exhilarating, most creatively satisfying journey you’ve taken me on in the last 20 years. I owe you more than I can say.”
Murphy went on to thank the entire cast and crew of Oppenheimer. He also shouted out his fellow nominees for best actor.
“I am a very proud Irishman. We made a film about the man who created the atomic bomb, and for better or for worse, we are all living in Oppenheimer’s world,” he concluded. “So I’d like to dedicate this award to the peacemakers.”
The actor competed against Maestro’s Bradley Cooper, Rustin’s Colman Domingo, The Holdovers’ Paul Giamatti and American Fiction’s Jeffrey Wright at the awards show, which took place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Prior to the ceremony, Cooper, 49, had the most Oscar nominations of anyone in the category, having earned 12 nods throughout his career. Though he had yet to win an Academy Award, he was previously up for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Silver Linings Playbook in 2013, American Sniper in 2015 and A Star Is Born in 2019. This year, he also received nominations for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay for his work in Maestro.
Giamatti, 56, had one previous Oscar nod for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Cinderella Man in 2006. As for Murphy, 47, Domingo, 54, and Wright, 58, they each received their first Academy Award nomination this year.
Murphy reacted to his nomination in January, pointing out how his longevity in the industry impacted his views on the subject.
“We’ve talked about this really gradual process, and I think that’s why I’m able to deal with it and able to enjoy it,” he told Deadline at the time. “I’m, like, 48 and I’ve seen a lot and been doing it for 28 years now, so I think I can understand how significant it is to me and how meaningful it is to me and to other people. … You know, it’s been a long time in the business. I think as a youngster it just didn’t seem a possibility, anything like this.”
Murphy has been receiving accolades throughout awards season for his portrayal of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the theoretical physicist who helped create the atomic bomb. In January, he won Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama at the 2024 Golden Globe Awards, besting Cooper, Domingo, Killers of the Flower Moon’s Leonardo DiCaprio, Saltburn’s Barry Keoghan and All of Us Strangers’ Andrew Scott in the category. Then, in February, he took home Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role at the 2024 SAG Awards, defeating Cooper, Domingo, Giamatti and Wright.
Since the Golden Globes categories are divided up differently, Giamatti competed in a different category than Murphy at the ceremony, earning Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. Wright, Wonka’s Timothée Chalamet, Beau Is Afraid’s Joaquin Phoenix, Air’s Matt Damon and Dream Scenario’s Nicolas Cage were also up for the award.
At the time, Giamatti dedicated his trophy to educators in a nod to his New England prep school instructor character from The Holdovers. “It’s a movie about a teacher. I play a teacher in it. My whole family, they are teachers. All of them, going back generations,” he said in his acceptance speech. “Teachers are good people. We’ve got to respect them. They do a good thing. It’s a tough job. So this is for teachers.”
