LOS ANGELES: Actor Cillian Murphy bagged the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in the biopic 'Oppenheimer'. Taking to X, The Academy shared a post and wrote, "Best Actor in a Leading Role goes to Cillian Murphy!"
Murphy triumphed over Bradley Cooper (Maestro), Colman Domingo (Rustin), Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers) and Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction). 'Oppenheimer' also won the awards for Best Supporting Actor, Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Score at the 96th Academy Awards. Earlier, Murphy won the Best Actor award for 'Oppenheimer' at the BAFTA Awards 2024 and Golden Globe Awards 2024.
The biopic, set during World War II, follows Oppenheimer, known as the "Father of the Atomic Bomb," during a period in history when he understood that testing the atomic bomb would ignite the atmosphere and destroy the world, yet he pushed the button anyway. 'Oppenheimer' is played by Cillian Murphy, who is securing the lead for the first time in a Christopher Nolan film. Having previously starred in 'Inception,' 'Batman Begins,' 'The Dark Knight,' 'The Dark Knight Rises,' and 'Dunkirk,' Murphy has been a mainstay in many of Nolan's movies.
The star-studded cast includes Rami Malek, Kenneth Branagh, Benny Safdie, Dane DeHaan, Jack Quaid, Matthew Modine, Alden Ehrenreich, Josh Peck, Jason Clarke, David Dastmalchian, Alex Wolff, James D'Arcy, and many others. Florence Pugh plays Jean Tatlock, Emily Blunt plays Kitty Oppenheimer, Robert Downey Jr. plays Lewis Strauss and Matt Damon.