Cillian Murphy spearheads Irish charge for Oscars

The 2024 Oscar nominations were recently announced with one of Ireland’s finest in the front-running for best actor.

On Tuesday, January 23, at the iconic Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Cillian Murphy was nominated.

The announcement was made by Deadpool star Zazie Beetz and Jack Quaid, one of Murphy’s co-stars from the movie Oppenheimer.

Murphy’s triumph in Best Actor category

The former Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy, originally from Cork, is vying for the coveted Best Actor award for his stellar performance in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.

This film not only won critical acclaim but also dominated the box office last summer. Murphy’s portrayal faces tough competition from Paul Giamatti of The Holdovers, a recent Golden Globe winner, as well as Bradley Cooper in Maestro, Colman Domingo of Rustin, and Jeffrey Wright in American Fiction.

Snubs and surprises

However, the intense competition in the Best Actor category meant that Andrew Scott – All Of Us Strangers and Barry Keoghan – Saltburn, both miss out, despite their highly-acclaimed performances.

Similarly, Paul Mescal was overlooked for his performance in All Of Us Strangers, missing out on a Best Supporting Actor nomination after his previous year’s nod for Aftersun.

Irish cinema’s continued success

There’s more good news for Irish cinema. Element Pictures’ Poor Things garnered 11 nominations, a testament to the studio’s success under Irish duo Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe, and their collaboration with Yorgos Lanthimos.

Dublin-born Robbie Ryan also earned his second Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography for his work on the Emma Stone-led dark comedy.

The Best Picture showdown

The Best Picture category is brimming with remarkable films this year. Alongside Oppenheimer, contenders include Barbie, The Holdovers, Killers of the Flower Moon, The Zone of Interest, Maestro, Poor Things, Anatomy of a Fall, American Fiction, and Past Lives.

They all aim to follow in the footsteps of Everything Everywhere All at Once, last year’s winner.

The 96th Academy Awards will be hosted for the fourth time by US talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel, and will be broadcast on March 10, promising a night of celebration and suspense for the film industry.