On a momentous occasion at the Golden Globe Awards, Christopher Nolan clinched his first Globe win for Best Director, earning acclaim for his work on the gripping three-hour historical drama, Oppenheimer. The film not only garnered critical acclaim but also ignited the box office with its compelling narrative.

Christopher Nolan pays heartfelt tribute to Heath Ledger

During his acceptance speech, Christopher Nolan took a moment to reflect on his past appearance on the Golden Globes stage when he accepted an award on behalf of the late Heath Ledger for his iconic portrayal of the Joker in The Dark Knight. Nolan shared the challenges of that moment and recounted how Robert Downey Jr. provided a look of love and support, a memory that resonated during this victory.

Expressing gratitude for his win, Nolan admitted that accepting the award as a director was more complex than anticipated. He recognised that, as a director, the honour is shared with the collaborative efforts of the entire team. He emphasised the role directors play in bringing people together and extracting the best from them. He dedicated the win to the ensemble cast of Oppenheimer, singling out long-time collaborator Cillian Murphy as his "partner in crime for 20 years."

Christopher Nolan's journey to victory

Having previously been nominated for his writing in Memento (2000), writing and directing Inception (2010), and directing Dunkirk (2017), this win marks a significant milestone in Christopher Nolan's career. The director found himself in stiff competition this year, facing off against Bradley Cooper, Greta Gerwig, Yorgos Lanthimos, Martin Scorsese, and Celine Song in the directorial race.

Oppenheimer is a biographical thriller film starring Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American theoretical physicist credited with being the "father of the atomic bomb" for his role in the Manhattan Project—the World War II undertaking that developed the first nuclear weapons.

The film is based on the 2005 biography ‘American Prometheus’ by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, the film chronicles the career of Oppenheimer, with the story predominantly focusing on his studies, his direction of the Manhattan Project during World War II, and his eventual fall from grace due to his 1954 security hearing.