BAFTA 2024: Cillian Murphy Becomes First Irish Actor To Win British Awards In Best Actor Category

Already a winner at the Golden Globes, Cillian Murphy has bagged another Best Actor award - this time at the 77th British Academy Film Awards. The actor was nominated for his performance in the blockbuster hit film Oppenheimer, alongside Bradley Cooper for Maestro, Colman Domingo for Rustin, Paul Giamatti for The Holdovers, Barry Keoghan for Saltburn and Teo Yoo for Past Lives. It is the actor's first BAFTA award.

Cillian Murphy wins big at BAFTAs

The actor has won the award for his performance as the father of the atomic bomb in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer. He is the first person Ireland-born actor to win this category. The actor in his acceptance speech shared that the character meant "different things to different people".  

“Oppenheimer was this colossally knotty complex character, and he meant different things to different people,” Murphy said. “One man’s monster is another man’s hero. That’s why I love movies ... as a place to interrogate and investigate that complexity,” Murphy said while accepting the Best Actor award.

Oppenheimer ruled BAFTAs 2024 by winning 7 awards

The film, which was one of the biggest hit films of 2023 in the USA and worldwide, has taken seven BAFTA awards home including Best Actor. The list is as follows

Best Director - Christopher Nolan

Best Supporting Actor - Robert Downey Jr

Best Actor - Cillian Murphy

Best Film

Original Score 

Cinematography 

Editing

About Oppenheimer

Apart from Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr, the film also starred Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh,  Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Rami Malek, and Kenneth Branagh, in pivotal roles. The epic biographical thriller drama was based on American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the development of the atomic bomb.

The 77th British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) took place on February 18 at the Royal Festival Hall in London.