CILLIAN MURPHY HAS won the Oscar for Best Actor at the 96th Academy Awards for his portrayal of J Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan’s biopic about the father of the atomic bomb.

The Cork man beat out Paul Giamatti, Colman Dominguez, Bradley Cooper and Jeffrey Wright to claim his first ever Academy Award at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles overnight.

Accepting the award, Murphy said he was “in awe of” his fellow nominees. 

Murphy began his speech by paying tribute to director Christopher Nolan and producer Emma Thomas.

“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.”

Cillian Murphy wins Best Actor at the #Oscars for 'Oppenheimer.' pic.twitter.com/8fyVOefjLC

— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) March 11, 2024

“I want to thank Yvonne McGuinness, my partner in life and art. My two boys, Malachy and Aran who are sitting up there, I love you so much. I’m a very proud Irishman standing here tonight,” said Murphy.

Speaking about the significance of Oppenheimer, Murphy said: “We made a film about the man who created the atomic bomb. For better or worse, we’re all living in Oppenheimer’s world so I would really like to dedicate this to the peacemakers everywhere.”

Signing-off as Gaeilge he added: “Go raibh míle maith agaibh.”

Murphy’s speech was met with a standing ovation from much of the crowd.

Speaking about Murphy’s turn as Oppenheimer in a new format that saw five past winners introduce this year’s nominees, Ben Kingsley said: “The performance was masterful … and riveting to watch.”

The award caps a momentous awards season for Murphy, who has won the equivalent award at the Baftas, the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards. 

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Murphy’s win was quickly followed by a Best Director gong for Christopher Nolan, the Englishman’s first Academy Award in that category. In his acceptance speech, Nolan paid tribute to his cast, “led by the incredible Cillian Murphy”. 

Oppenheimer went on to win Best Picture, completing a major sweep of the night’s accolades with a total of seven Oscars.

It was also a successful night for Irish production company Element Pictures as Poor Things picked up four Academy Awards, including Best Actress for Emma Stone.

Irishman Robbie Ryan was nominated in the Best Cinematography category for his work on Poor Things but lost out to Oppenheimer’s cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema on the night. 

Despite last summer’s ‘Barbenheimer’ rivalry Barbie claimed just one award, winning best song for Billie Eilish’s What Was I Made For? You can find a list of the winners in full here. 

Arts and culture minister Catherine Martin and Tánaiste Micheál Martin have been amongst those paying tribute to Murphy, with the Tánaiste describing it as “a very proud day for Cork and Ireland”.