Watch: Cillian Murphy's Oscars acceptance speech offers an Irish twist
Cillian Murphy accepts the Oscar for best actor for Oppenheimer. Picture: Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images
- This article is part of our Best of 2024 collection. It was originally published in March. Find more stories like this here.
Cork actor Cillian Murphy has made history by becoming the first Irish-born person to win a best actor Oscar.
Murphy was presented with the award on Sunday night in Los Angeles for his role as J. Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan’s epic biopic Oppenheimer.
Taking to the stage, Murphy said he felt "a little overwhelmed" but said he was "a very proud Irish man standing here tonight".
"It's been the wildest, most exhilarating, most creatively satisfying journey you've taken me on over the last 20 years. I owe you more than I can say," he said to Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas.
He thanked his family as well as the Oppenheimer cast and crew before dedicating his award to "the peacemakers".
"We made a film about the man who created the atomic bomb. And for better or for worse, we're all living in Oppenheimer's world so I'd really like to dedicate this to the peacemakers, everywhere."
He left the stage with some cúpla focal: "Go raibh míle maith agaibh."
Speaking backstage, Murphy said he was still “in a little bit of a daze” after the win but felt an overwhelming sense of pride at being an Irish actor.
He revealed he was unsure of what he had said in his acceptance speech but he wanted to stress how significant it was to him that he is the first Irish-born actor to win an Oscar.
“It’s really, really meaningful to me and I don't know if I said this in my speech because I can't remember what I said, but I do want to say that I think in Ireland, we're really great at supporting artists,” he said.
“I think we need to continue to support artists and the next generation of actors and directors. I think that's vitally important.” He had earlier told the awards ceremony he was "a very proud Irish man standing here tonight".
It was the culmination of awards season success for Murphy, who also picked up a Golden Globe, a Bafta and a Screen Actors Guild Award, among other accolades, for his role.
Murphy faced competition in the category from Paul Giamatti for The Holdovers, Bradley Cooper for Maestro, Colman Domingo for Rustin, and Jeffrey Wright for American Fiction.
He attended the 96th Oscars ceremony with his family, wife Yvonne McGuinness and sons Malachy and Aran. It is believed his parents watched the Oscars from their home in Cork City, with his father Breandán previously telling RTÉ's Ráidió na Gaeltachta that he and his wife did not intend to travel to LA. “When he comes home from the Oscars, we will make him a cake,” he said.
Oppenheimer won seven Oscars in total, including best picture. Murphy’s co-star Robert Downey Jr picked up an Oscar — his third nomination and first win — for best supporting actor and Christopher Nolan won best director, also his first Oscar.
Da’Vine Joy Randolph went home with the best supporting actress Oscar for The Holdovers, while Emma Stone won best actress for Poor Things.
Poor Things, a surreal Irish-produced comedy about a woman who has the brain of a baby transplanted into her, won four Oscars, including makeup/hairstyling and production design. However cinematographer Robbie Ryan, who was nominated for his work on the film, missed out on the Oscar, which instead went to Hoyte van Hoytema for Oppenheimer.
Meanwhile, Barbie won the Oscar for best song for What Was I Made For? by Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell.
The ‘In Memoriam’ section paid tribute to recently deceased members of the Academy, including Dublin actor Michael Gambon, accompanied by Andrea and Matteo Bocelli singing ‘Time to Say Goodbye’.
The start of the Oscars was delayed by five minutes as pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the award ceremony. French filmmakers Justine Triet and Arthur Harari got the award for original screenplay for courtroom drama Anatomy Of A Fall, and Cord Jefferson won the best adapted screenplay for American Fiction.
In video clips circulating on X, formerly Twitter, crowds of protesters could be seen carrying Palestinian flags and chanting “ceasefire now” near the Dolby Theatre.
The protest stopped traffic heading towards the 96th Academy Awards for around 20 minutes and blocked guests in their cars.
Several stars had not arrived at the venue 10 minutes before the start time, with Barbie star Margot Robbie thought to be one celebrity caught in the delay.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, some stars began to leave their vehicles and walk to the venue instead as police arrived to disperse the crowd.
