Summary

Christopher Nolan wins his first Golden Globe for Best Director for Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer, directed by Nolan, was a critical and box office success, earning $952 million worldwide. Cillian Murphy’s performance in Oppenheimer has made him a strong contender for an Oscar nomination.

Christopher Nolan won the Best Director — Motion Picture Golden Globe for his extraordinary work on Oppenheimer at last night’s Golden Globe Awards. The critically acclaimed filmmaker has been nominated for a total of six Golden Globes during his illustrious career, but tonight marks his very first win. And Nolan couldn’t let the moment pass without mentioning the only other time he graced the Golden Globes stage: collecting Heath Ledger’s Best Actor Award over a decade ago.

“The only time I’ve ever been on this stage before was accepting one of these on behalf of our dear friend, Heath Ledger, and that was complicated and challenging for me,” Nolan said. “In the middle of speaking, I got all stuck, and Robert Downey Jr. caught my eye and gave me a look of love and support — the same look he’s giving me now.”

Nolan went on to address the moment and acknowledged how accepting the award for himself as a director turned out not to be as simple as he believed it would be:

I thought it would be simpler accepting for myself. But, as a director, I realize I can only accept this on behalf of people. As directors, we bring people together, and we try to get them to give their best.

Check out Nolan’s full acceptance speech below:

List of the other 2024 nominees:

Yorgos Lanthimos – Poor Things

Martin Scorsese – Killers of the Flower Moon

Related: Oppenheimer Wins Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Drama

Robert Downey Jr. Revels in Oppenheimer’s Success
Universal Pictures

Oppenheimer’s Robert Downey Jr. took home the coveted Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture at this year’s awards. And the idolized actor’s sense of humor was on full display when he stepped up to accept his award for playing Lewis Strauss in Nolan’s movie. RDJ’s quip arguably stole the night.

Yeah, yeah… I took a beta blocker, so this is going to be a breeze.

The former Iron Man actor continued in a way very reminiscent of Tony Stark, noting the reaction to his Oppenheimer role, and making sure to thank his wife. RDJ continued:

“Dozens of folks have come up to me since the summertime saying that I was – quote – unrecognizably subtle as Leonard Strauss. To my fellow nominees, let’s not pretend this is a compliment. This is a first time, this is more of a most-improved player thing. Speaking of motivators, my primary caregiver right there, Susan Downey. She has literally made an art out of extracting me from my comfort zones… that I need to feel safe! But she’s easy on the eyes, so whatevs.”

Fans can check out the entire speech below:

Oppenheimer became one of the biggest movies of 2023, which was spurred on by its dual release with Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. Director Christopher Nolan scored one of the biggest hits of his career, both in terms of critical and box office success… to the tune of $952 million worldwide. While this wasn’t quite enough to surpass Nolan’s billion-dollar hits, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, the filmmaker himself called Oppenheimer “the most successful” of his career.

Oppenheimer became much more than a historical recount of the events surrounding Mr. Oppenheimer’s involvement on the Manhattan Project, delving into the ramifications behind the creator of the atomic bomb and its moral implications on the world. All of this was portrayed effortlessly by Cillian Murphy in a role that has already singled him out as a strong Oscar contender.

Oppenheimer Release Date July 21, 2023 Cast Cillian Murphy , Matt Damon , Robert Downey Jr. , Emily Blunt , Florence Pugh , Gary Oldman , Josh Hartnett , Jack Quaid , Kenneth Branagh , Rami Malek , Alex Wolff , Matthew Modine