Cillian Murphy Dedicates His Oscar to "the Peacemakers Everywhere"

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Cillian Murphy's performance as J. Robert Oppenheimer in Oppenheimer has won him the first Oscar of his career.

"I'm a little overwhelmed, thank you to the Academy," Murphy began. "Chris Nolan and Emma Thomas, it's been the wildest, most exhilarating, most creatively satisfying journey you've taken me on the last twenty years. I owe you more than I can say. Thank you so much."

"Every single crew member, every single cast member on Oppenheimer, you guys carried me through. All my fellow nominees: I remain in awe of you guys, truly." He goes on to thank his team, then his family: "Yvonne McGuinness, my partner in life, and my two boys, Malachy and Aran, who are sitting up there. I love you so much."

He ended by saying, "I'm a very proud Irishman standing here tonight, so we made a film about the man who created the atomic bomb, and for better or worse, we're all living in Oppenheimer's world. I'd like to dedicate this to the peacemakers everywhere."

At the Academy Awards this evening, Murphy was joined by his wife, Yvonne McGuiness, whom he kissed before walking on stage. His sons Malachy and Aran were also in attendance, marking a rare public appearance for the entire Murphy-McGuiness family.

The Oscar win caps off a very strong awards season for the Irish actor, who had already won Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Screen Actors Guild awards for his performance as the theoretical physicist. Oppenheimer, too, has dominated the awards this year, with Robert Downey Jr. also winning tonight for Best Supporting Actor.

In an interview about playing Oppenheimer, Murphy said, "To me, great screen acting is all about 'show, don't tell,' and being able to transmit emotion and energy just by force or presence or charisma."

He added, "I knew it would have to be a quiet, small performance, because the themes are f—ing huge. What's happening inside his heart and his mind can't be painted big, particularly when it's captured on an Imax camera and it’s going to be shown on a f—ing 80-foot screen. I knew it would have to be delicate and tiny, most of it."

Watch Oppenheimer on Peacock

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