An “overwhelmed” Cillian Murphy, after winning his first career Oscar for his leading role in “Oppenheimer,” heaped praise Sunday evening on his director and frequent collaborator, Christopher Nolan.
“The movie is so special to me, and you know, myself and Chris have such a special relationship,” Murphy, 47, told reporters backstage at the Dolby Theatre after winning the best actor prize. “I just feel very privileged to … continue to work with him and I’m very proud that. This is a film that is provocative and that asks questions and it’s challenging, but yet, so many people went to see it, so I’m really, really proud of that.”
Murphy has been a frequent face in Nolan films, including “Dunkirk,” “Inception” and the “Batman”/”Dark Knight” trilogy.
“It’s very, very special,” Murphy said of his work with Nolan. “You know, we’ve been working together for 20 years. I think he’s the perfect director. He’s an extraordinary writer, he’s an extraordinary producer, he’s extraordinary visually, an extraordinary director of actors. He presents his film like no one else does in the world.
“And I just can’t believe my luck. You know, i did a screen test for him when I was a kid. And I thought that would be it, and it would be just enough to be in a room with Chris for a couple of hours. And here we are. So I’m just so humbled and thankful.”
Murphy said he was still in “a little bit of a daze” of the win.
“I’m very overwhelmed. I’m very humbled. I’m very grateful,” he said.