Cillian Murphy’s Oscar in Danger: Who Can Take His Oppenheimer Award?

Summary:

• Cillian Murphy 's Oppenheimer performance looks like an Oscar-winning one.
• He faces tough competition with Bradley Cooper and Paul Giamatti, who have also shown a decent level of acting.
• His recent victories, including the SAG Award, increase his chances for an Oscar.

This year’s Oscars race is about to end next Sunday, March 10, and for this reason speculations on the potential winners have reached their climax. Last year brought a surprising number of outstanding films and acting performances, so there will be tough battles in each of the awards categories, including the Best Actor one.

The main contender for the statue here is Cillian Murphy, whose once-in-a-lifetime performance in Christopher Nolan ’s Oppenheimer shocked everyone.

Even though the Irish 47-year-old actor was known for his bright acting long before the biopic about the “father” of the atomic bomb (recalling his roles in 28 Days Later, Dunkirk and The Dark Knight trilogy) , his portrayal of J. Robert Oppenheimer’s portrayal stands out the most, allowing us to trace the path of the genius and his emotional perturbations with our eyes.

Given the list of the nominees, it’s necessary to point out there is a tough competition among male actors this year. There can be no doubt that the two of Murphy’s colleagues also gave their best performances in 2023: Bradley Cooper and Paul Giamatti.

Bradley Cooper, being one of the best actors in today’s industry, has successfully begun his directing path (A Star is Born), continuing to star in his own movies. His latest project Maestro has not become an exception - he directed it and played quite a difficult role of Leonard Bernstein, a legendary composer and pianist, presenting how touching his acting can be to the whole world and to the Academy.

Paul Giamatti, an industry veteran, is another actor who might just win the Oscar at the last moment, as his character in The Holdovers seems so vivid and relatable that he made everyone empathize with him, despite the initially unpleasant onscreen behavior. Notably, Giamatti already won the Best Actor award at the Critics Choice Awards as well as the Golden Globes for the Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical category.

Murphy has so far taken home the awards for the respective category at the Golden Globes, BAFTA, and recently, at the SAG Awards, and there is an opinion the last one is the reddest indicator on the future Oscars winner. Time will tell, see you on March 10.