Five reasons why ‘Oppenheimer’ star Cillian Murphy will win Best Actor at the Oscars

Jacob Sarkisian
·8 min read
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Cillian Murphy delivers a powerhouse performance in Christopher Nolan‘s acclaimed biopic “Oppenheimer.” As J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, Murphy cuts a striking figure in his suit and hat with his piercing blue eyes staring out through IMAX screens and into the souls of cinema-goers.

The movie is Nolan’s first-ever biopic and explores how Oppenheimer went from a troubled, homesick student at Cambridge University to the leader of the Manhattan Project and the creator of the atomic bomb, which was later dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Murphy’s Oppenheimer is a supremely intelligent man with political leanings and a brain that could consume anyone in the room with him. But he’s also a troubled man, burdened by the weight of what he is trying to achieve and aware that his creation will change the world — and not necessarily for the better. It’s a complex role and Murphy soars in it.

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As such, Murphy finds himself at the top of our list of predicted Best Actor Oscar nominees for next year’s Academy Awards. We think that he will be nominated alongside Leonardo DiCaprio (“Killers of the Flower Moon”), Bradley Cooper (“Maestro”), Colman Domingo (“Rustin”), and Paul Giamatti (“The Holdovers”). This would be Murphy’s first-ever Oscar bid but we think he will go one better than a simple nomination. We think he’ll win on his first try. Here are five reasons why that could happen.

1. Murphy has the support of critics
It’s important to have the support of critics. Sometimes, actors have the support of critics for their performance but not necessarily for the film itself (think Brendan Fraser and “The Whale” or Rami Malek and “Bohemian Rhapsody”). But critics love both Murphy’s performance and Nolan’s movie itself.

Brian Lowry (CNN) wrote: “A Nolan favorite featured in several of his films, Murphy delivers a career-topping performance. Oppenheimer became haunted by the morality of what he had midwifed, and his messy personal life and affairs coexisted with his beautiful mind – a duality the actor conveys in a way that overshadows the bigger names in supporting roles.”

Christian Holub (Entertainment Weekly) explained: “Cillian Murphy rises to the challenge with an absolutely absorbing performance… The actor has proved his leading-man bona fides elsewhere (most recently in the long-running Netflix crime series ‘Peaky Blinders’) and finally brings that side of his skillset home to Nolan. No question, the close-ups on Murphy’s face as Oppenheimer thinks through the 20th century’s thorniest problems are as compelling as the film’s atomic explosions, and as deserving of the biggest screen possible.”

And Dan Jolin (Empire) observed: “At the film’s pulsing nucleus is Murphy as Oppenheimer, and he is compelling throughout. Given the movie’s hefty import, you’d have expected him to infuse every ounce of his talent into this performance, and that is certainly evident from his every moment on screen.”

2. Murphy stars in a biopic
This is the obvious one. Academy voters LOVE biopics. Six out of the last 10 Best Actor winners have won for playing real-life people in biopics, including Will Smith for “King Richard” in 2022, Rami Malek for “Bohemian Rhapsody” in 2019, and DiCaprio for “The Revenant” in 2016. Moreover, voters particularly love actors who take on major historical figures who left a great impact on the world. Daniel Day-Lewis won for playing Abraham Lincoln in 2013 for “Lincoln.” Eddie Redmayne won for playing Stephen Hawking in 2015 for “The Theory of Everything.” And Gary Oldman won for playing Winston Churchill in 2018 for “Darkest Hour.” These are titanic historical figures who shaped the world we live in today. Murphy as Oppenheimer would fit in right alongside that crowd.

3. Murphy fully committed to the role
Murphy’s silhouette in the role of Oppenheimer is one of the most striking cinematic images of the year — and his co-stars have recently revealed that his behind-the-scenes efforts helped to contribute to that. Emily Blunt, who plays his on-screen wife Kitty, claimed that Murphy ate only one almond a day in preparation for the role. While Murphy’s exact diet hasn’t yet been disclosed, Murphy did say this to The New York Times: “I love acting with my body, and Oppenheimer had a very distinct physicality and silhouette, which I wanted to get right. I had to lose quite a bit of weight, and we worked with the costume and tailoring; he was very slim, almost emaciated, existed on martinis and cigarettes.” That shows a clear dedication to the role. Murphy also explained that he learned 3000 words of Dutch over one weekend for the role, too: “You break it down and say, ‘Alright, we need to work on this today.’ I used to set aside, ‘I’ll work on this for a week and I’ll work on that for a week.'”

Voters will appreciate this level of commitment to the role, as they have done before with past roles. They nominated Cooper in 2019 for learning how to sing and play guitar for his role in “A Star is Born.” They nominated Day-Lewis the year before that for learning how to sew and make dresses for “Phantom Thread.” They gave DiCaprio the win in 2016 for his extreme physical efforts for “The Revenant” and Matthew McConaughey won in 2014 for his weight loss for “Dallas Buyers Club.” And that’s not to mention Murphy’s accent for the role. There are too many performances to list that have included a stunning accent that has helped to lead to an Oscar nomination. Murphy could be next.

4. Murphy fits the bill of past stars who have won on their first try
Winning on your first try isn’t an easy achievement but it has been done before. Malek did it for “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Redmayne did it for “The Theory of Everything.” Murphy fits in with those guys — he’s a respected actor who has been around the block more than most realize and who audiences admire (this is particularly true of Murphy — he is cherished by “Peaky Blinders” fans). Then, all of those performers made a splash in dramatic roles that feel like their first lead roles in major movies and they steal the entire show. People came away talking about Malek when they watched “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Redmayne was the talk of the town after his performance in “The Theory of Everything.” And Murphy is the same. This wouldn’t be a gesture nomination. It’s a major piece of work that the academy might not be able to look away from.

5. It’s an easy way to reward a film they love
Sometimes, one movie runs away with the entire Oscar evening, like “Everything Everywhere All at Once” did earlier this year or how “The Lord the Rings: The Return of the King” did back in 2004. More often than not, however, the love is spread around a few films. Given the strength of competition this year, it feels like we could be in for one of those years where three, four, or five films are handed one, two, or three Oscars each rather than one picture winning seven, eight, or nine awards. That means that some films will be snubbed in certain areas. Now, “Oppenheimer” will likely garner a hell of a lot of Oscar nominations, including bids for Best Picture, Best Director for Nolan, Best Actor for Murphy, Best Supporting Actress for Blunt, Best Supporting Actor for Robert Downey Jr, Best Adapted Screenplay, and a bunch of below-the-line nominations, too.

It remains to be seen how other films will be received but voters might want to give Best Picture to something else. They might want to give Martin Scorsese (“Killers of the Flower Moon”) another Best Director award. They might prefer Robert De Niro (“Killers of the Flower Moon”) or Ryan Gosling (“Barbie”) for Supporting Actor and Lily Gladstone (“Killers of the Flower Moon”) or Taraji P. Henson (“The Color Purple”) for Supporting Actress. “Dune: Part Two” might sweep up a lot of the technical categories and “Barbie” could receive some love for the design categories.  And there are a number of movies that could win Adapted Screenplay, too, in what looks like a very strong category this year.

So, suddenly, 10, 11, 12, or 13 nominations could actually turn into zero wins.

But voters will want to reward “Oppenheimer” in some capacity and the obvious way to do that looks like Best Actor. It’s a powerful performance from a beloved actor breaking out in his first major leading role, it’s a film that is built entirely around Murphy’s central performance, and Murphy is the biggest takeaway from the film. In this early stage, it looks like “Oppenheimer” could be this year’s “Lincoln.” “Lincoln” was well-respected by the academy, earning the most Oscar nominations that year (12), including bids for Best Picture and Best Director for Steven Spielberg. However, the movie only won two Oscars — Best Actor for Day-Lewis and Best Production Design.

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