‘Oppenheimer’ wins big at the Critics Choice Awards – but Cillian Murphy misses out

Oppenheimer has won big at this year’s Critics Choice Awards, but actor Cillian Murphy missed out on receiving the award for Best Actor in one of the main upsets of the night.

• READ MORE: ‘Oppenheimer’ review: Christopher Nolan’s mind-blowing biopic hits like a bomb to the brain

Christopher Nolan’s epic film about the father of the atomic bomb took home eight awards in total. Nolan earned the award for Best Director and Best Picture, while the film also saw Robert Downey Jr win the award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Lewis Strauss, the former head of the US Atomic Energy Commission.

Murphy lost out at the awards however to Paul Giamatti, who won Best Actor for his turn in The Holdovers. 

Collecting his award for best director, Nolan said: “To mangle a quote from Sir Isaac Newton, ‘If I appear tall it’s because I stand on the shoulders of giants’ – the particular giants I am standing on is Kai (Bird) and Marty (Sherwin) who wrote the incredible book American Prometheus and spent 25 years doing it.

“I thank you Kai for trusting me with your work and Marty, unfortunately he left us before I was able to show him the final script, but Kai your constant reassurances once you saw the film that he would have approved meant the world to me.”

Downey Jr meanwhile used his acceptance speech for Best Supported Actor to take joking aim at the critics who have reviewed him negatively in the past.

He said: “I was thinking this morning, I just love critics… you know, they’ve given me such beautiful feedback, really just so many great moments, and some of it is so poetic. I just want to share some of their thoughts with you over the year.

“The first one is kind of like Haiku: ‘Sloppy, messy and lazy’. The next one is more metaphoric: ‘Like Pee-Wee Herman emerging from a coma’. This was from a Brit: ‘A puzzling waste of talent’. And lastly, and this one lingered: ‘Amusing as a bed-locked fart’.”

The film also picked up awards for Best Acting Ensemble, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Visual Effects and Best Score.

Check back on NME.com for the full list of winners at the awards.

Meanwhile, last week, Murphy picked up the award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama at the 2024 Golden Globes.

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