Irish actor Cillian Murphy won his first Oscar for the portrayal of physicist Robert Oppenheimer, who led the US development of the atomic bomb during WW II. The biopic 'Oppenheimer' also earned critically acclaimed British-American filmmaker Christopher Nolan his first Oscars.
'Oppenheimer' narrates the tale of Oppenheimer and his peers at Los Alamos who would test the bomb on July 16, 1945, not knowing the ensuing fallout.
Murphy beat Colman Domingo for Rustin, Bradley Cooper for Maestro, Paul Giamatti for The Holdovers, and Jeffrey Wright for American Fiction.
This is also the first nomination for the actor, a regular fixture in Nolan's movies. "We made a film about the man who created the atomic bomb. For better or worse, we're all living in Robert Oppenheimer's world," Murphy said in his acceptance speech. "So Id like to dedicate this to the peacemakers everywhere."
With the Oscar win, Murphy capped a successful awards season which also saw him collect a Golden Globe, a BAFTA and a Screen Actors Guild award.
As for Nolan, whose earlier ventures garnered huge critical acclaim all over the world, 'Oppenheimer' won him his first Oscars. He has earlier been nominated for directing Dunkirk in 2017 and for original screenplay in 2010 for Inception and in 2001 for Memento.
Nolan beat out Jonathan Glazer of 'The Zone of Interest', Yorgos Lanthimos of 'Poor Things', Martin Scorsese of 'Killers of the Flower Moon', and Justine Triet of 'Anatomy of a Fall'.
Besides directing, Nolan was also nominated for adapted screenplay and best picture for 'Oppenheimer'. The film earned a leading 13 nominations and has earned nearly $1 billion worldwide.
