Cillian Murphy wins Best Actor for 'Oppenheimer' at the 2024 Oscars
Cillian Murphy has won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his leading role in Oppenheimer.
Murphy was tasked with shouldering Christopher Nolan's three-hour-long drama about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb. Playing a historical figure over the course of his life is surefire catnip for the Academy Awards, but Murphy's performance is built less on grandiose showboating than it is on internal subtleties. His Oppenheimer is constantly at war with himself, his many ideological contradictions playing out in flickers across his face. As Mashable Entertainment Editor Kristy Puchko predicted in her review, "Murphy will no doubt be heralded — perhaps by the Academy too — for his reserved yet largely riveting portrayal of a complicated man."
On top of winning his first Oscar off of his first nomination, Murphy also picked up the Golden Globe, SAG award, and BAFTA for his performance. Oppenheimer marks his sixth collaboration — and first lead role — with Nolan, with whom he also worked on Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Inception, and Dunkirk.
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How to watch: Oppenheimer is now streaming on Peacock.
Belen Edwards is an Entertainment Reporter at Mashable. She covers movies and TV with a focus on fantasy and science fiction, adaptations, animation, and more nerdy goodness. She is a member of the Critics Choice Association and the Television Critics Association, as well as a Tomatometer-approved critic.
