CILLIAN Murphy said he was “a little overwhelmed” to win the Best Actor Oscar on Sunday in Hollywood.
The 47-year-old actor scooped the accolade for his work on ‘Oppenheimer’ and paid a particular tribute to his director and frequent collaborator Christopher Nolan, and producer Emma Thomas.
Speaking on stage at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theater, he said: “I’m a little overwhelmed. Thank you to the Academy. Chris Nolan and Emma Thomas, it’s been the wildest, most exhilarating, most creatively satisfying journey over the last 20 years, I owe you more than I can say, thank you so much
“Every single crew member, every single cast member from ‘Oppenheimer’, you guys carried me through.”
Cillian went on to praise the others nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, Bradley Cooper (‘Maestro’), Colman Domingo (‘Rustin’), Paul Giamatti (‘The Holdovers’) and Jeffrey Wright (‘American Fiction’) before thanking his team and his loved ones.
He said: “All my fellow nominees I remain in awe of you, truly.
“I want to thank my incredible team, big shout out… Brendan Murphy, Mary Murphy, Yvonne McGuinness my partner in life, my two boys Malachy and Aran, who are sitting up there, I love you so much.”
The ‘Dunkirk’ actor concluded by dedicating his win to “peacemakers everywhere”.
He said: “I’m a very proud Irishman standing here tonight.
“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’d like to dedicate this to the peacemakers everywhere.”
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