Cillian Murphy wins Best Actor for Oppenheimer

Years of serving as the most dependable element of the Christopher Nolan cinematic entourage have paid off at last tonight, as Cillian Murphy has just won his very first Oscar. Murphy picked up the statue for his riveting performance in Nolan’s era-spanning biopic Oppenheimer, in which he managed to make stillness and passivity land with far more impact than motion and bombast ever could.

Murphy won the night from the midst of a packed category, beating out Paul Giamatti, Colman Domingo, Bradley Cooper, and Jeffrey Wright for the award. He previously won similar honors at both the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards, paving the way for his first Oscar win this evening. (And nomination, although he picked up awards recognition in the 2000s for early turns in Breakfast On Pluto and The Wind That Shakes The Barley.)

In his acceptance speech, the typically shy Murphy admitted he was “overwhelmed,” and otherwise kept it short. He went on to thank Nolan and Emma Thomas, and concluded the speech by saying, “I’m a very proud Irish man standing here tonight… for better or worse, we’re all living in Oppenheimer’s world, so I’d like to dedicate this to the peacemakers everywhere.”

As Sir Ben Kingsley said while introducing Murphy, the actor signed onto the movie before he even read the script. Kingsley referred to the performance as “riveting;” clearly, the Academy agreed.

Murphy’s win comes in the midst of a good night for Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which has steadily risen up the betting pools as award season has progressed. The film came into Oscars night with 13 nominations to its name, including three of the acting categories, Best Director for Nolan, and Best Picture overall. So far, it’s taken home trophies for its editing and its score.