Cillian Murphy and Poor Things: What the Irish winners said about Golden Globes success

It was a big night for Irish names at the 2024 Golden Globes

Cillian Murphy arrives at the 81st Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills. Picture: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

The 2024 Golden Globes marked a big night for Irish stars with a nomination list littered with familiar names.

Sunday night’s awards saw a career highlight for Cork native Cillian Murphy as he secured a Golden Globe for his performance in Oppenheimer following his nomination alongside fellow Irish actors Barry Keoghan and Andrew Scott.

Meanwhile, award-winning film and television production company Element Pictures saw success for their movie, Poor Things. Run by Irish men Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe, previous credits also include Lenny Abrahamson’s award-winning Room and the hugely successful adaptation of Sally Rooney’s Normal People.

A highlight of the night was of course Cillian Murphy bagging the first major international award of his career. When accepting his Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama, a very happy — but slightly pink — Murphy appeared on stage to say a few words.

“First question, do I have lipstick all over my nose?,” he asked the audience. “I’m just going to leave it.” 

Speaking on his role in Oppenheimer, the actor said the first time that he walked on director Christopher Nolan’s set, he knew it was “different”.

“I could tell by the level of rigor, the level of focus, the level of dedication, the complete lack of any seating options for actors, that I was in the hands of a visionary director and master,” he said.

“I want to thank Chris [Nolan] and Emma [Thomas] for having the faith in me for 20 years and six fecking pictures so thank you so much," he continued.

“One of the most beautiful and vulnerable things about being an actor is you can’t do it on your own really and we had the most incredible ensemble cast in this movie. It was magical.” 

He thanked his costars, before moving on to his fellow nominees which included Dubliners Barry Keoghan and Andrew Scott.

“If you’re Irish or not, you’re all legends, stunning work. I salute you,” he said before finishing by thanking his family.

“To my family, I’m the luckiest man. Love you.” 

Meanwhile, Poor Things won the award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy at the 81st Golden Globes with actress Emma Stone picking up the prize for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for her role in the film.

Poor Things tells the story of a dead woman who was revived by scientists and was created by film and television production company, Element Pictures, which also saw Room nominated for a Golden Globe in 2016.

Despite an international cast, including its star Emma Stone, Poor Things is “an Irish film” and was built out of the Element Pictures office on O’Connell Street in Dublin’s city centre.

Speaking to RTÉ's Morning Ireland about the film's success at the Golden Globes, Ed Guiney said: “It's very much an Irish film in that sense and something which is a great accolade to all of the team at Element, all of the people Andrew Lowe, my partner I work with in Dublin and in London — great bunch of people. So we're very, very proud that we have another film that's actually a contender internationally."

(From L) Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos, US actress Emma Stone, US actor Willem Dafoe, US actor Mark Ruffalo and US actor Ramy Youssef pose in the press room with the awards for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy and Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama for Poor Things. Picture: Robyn BECK / AFP/ Getty

Guiney added they were “really delighted” with the win and expect that it will give them a “boost” at the box office as well as at other upcoming awards.

“It’s a massive, massive boost, and then it also gives it a boost in terms of other awards possibilities, going into the Oscars and the BAFTAs and all that kind of stuff," he explained. 

"We're in  a competitive arena with a lot of great movies so anything you can do to kind of push your head out above the others is a positive thing.”