Oscars 2024: 'Oppenheimer' wins Best Actor, Best Director
The highly awaited 96th Academy Awards took place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 10 (early morning on March 11 in India). They witnessed the presence of Hollywood celebrities such as Dominic Sessa, Vanessa Hudgens, and John Krasinski, among others. Oppenheimer, which was nominated in an unparalleled 13 categories, swept seven of them, providing a fitting end to the awards season.
Best Actor
Irish actor Cillian Murphy, who earlier won a BAFTA and a Golden Globe for his career-best performance as J. Robert Oppenheimer in the biographical drama, lifted his first Academy Award on the glittery evening. He was competing with Bradley Cooper (Maestro), Colman Domingo (Rustin), Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers), and Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction). Murphy is director Christopher Nolan's frequent collaborator.
Best Director
Nolan had previously been nominated in different categories for Memento, Inception, and Dunkirk, but could not hold the golden statue in his hand. Destiny finally flipped things on their head on Sunday, when Nolan was announced the winner of the Best Director category. Other competitors were Jonathan Glazer (The Zone...), Justine Triet (Anatomy...), Martin Scorsese (Killers...), and Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things).
Best Supporting Actor, Best Editing, Best Cinematography
Robert Downey Jr. was adjudged the Best Supporting Actor after whizzing past Sterling K Brown for American Fiction, Robert De Niro for Killers...., Ryan Gosling for Barbie, and Mark Ruffalo for Poor Things. Per RDJ, "Just going to flat out say it. This is the best film I have ever been in." Additionally, Oppenheimer also won Best Editing and Best Cinematography.
Best Film, Best Original Score
Oppenheimer also clinched the most prestigious award of the evening: Best Film after trumping Anatomy of a Fall, The Zone of Interest, American Fiction, Barbie, The Holdovers, Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, Past Lives, and Poor Things. Moreover, Oppenheimer's Ludwig Göransson emerged victorious in the Best Original Score category after whizzing past Laura Karpman, John Williams, Robbie Robertson, and Jerskin Fendrix.