Cillian Murphy Jokes About Lack of Chairs on Christopher Nolan Sets During Golden Globes Speech

Ryan Gajewski
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Cillian Murphy reflected on his long professional history with director Christopher Nolan while accepting the prize for best actor in a drama film for his title role in Oppenheimer at the 2024 Golden Globes.

“I knew the first time I walked on a Chris Nolan set that it was different. I could tell by the level of rigor, the level of focus, the level of dedication, the complete lack of any seating options for actors,” Murphy quipped with a laugh, “that I was in the hands of a visionary director and master.” Nolan, who accepted the Golden Globe for best director earlier in the ceremony, has directed Murphy in such previous films as the Dark Knight trilogy, Inception and Dunkirk.

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Murphy continued by calling out a number of his co-stars in the biographical film about J. Robert Oppenheimer, credited as the father of the atomic bomb. “We had the most incredible ensemble cast in this movie,” the actor said. “It was magic and some of them are here today: Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Gary Oldman. Thank you for carrying me and holding me through this movie.” (Among the Oppenheimer performers who were not named was Florence Pugh, who attended the ceremony and shares key scenes with Murphy.)

Murphy prevailed over fellow nominees Bradley Cooper (Maestro), Leonardo DiCaprio (Killers of the Flower Moon), Colman Domingo (Rustin), Barry Keoghan (Saltburn) and Andrew Scott (All of Us Strangers).

During a 2020 interview, Anne Hathaway — who co-starred with Murphy in Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises — quipped that the filmmaker doesn’t allow chairs on his sets. This led a representative for Nolan to clarify that chairs are not in fact banned, but that he doesn’t like them near the video monitor.

Last year’s winner in the category was Elvis star Austin Butler. He topped such competition as The Whale lead Brendan Fraser, who went on to win the Oscar for best actor. In his acceptance speech at the time, Butler heralded Elvis Presley as “an icon and a rebel” and went on to praise the late singer’s family for their support: “Thank you for opening your hearts, your memories, your home to me.”

The 81st Golden Globe Awards ceremony is being held at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills on Sunday with comedian Jo Koy hosting the event.

Included on the night’s star-studded list of presenters are Oprah Winfrey, Ben Affleck, Angela Bassett, Will Ferrell, America Ferrera, Daniel Kaluuya, Florence Pugh, Matt Damon, Michelle Yeoh, Hailee Steinfeld, Issa Rae, Shameik Moore, Simu Liu, Amanda Seyfried, Gabriel Macht, George Lopez, Julia Garner, Patrick J. Adams and Justin Hartley.

Golden Globes producer Dick Clark Productions is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Penske Media Corporation and Eldridge that also owns The Hollywood Reporter.

Click here for the 2024 Golden Globes’ complete winners list. The night’s most memorable red-carpet looks can be seen here.

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