Cillian Murphy Says He's in a ‘Daze’ After 2024 Oscars Win, 'Can't Remember' Acceptance Speech

Mar. 15, 2025

Cillian Murphy accepting the award for Best Actor at the 2024 Oscars.Photo:PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via GettyCillian Murphyis reflecting on his2024 Oscarswin!TheOppenheimerstar, 47, won Best Actor on Sunday for his performance asJ. Robert Oppenheimerin the hit 2023 movie.Speaking to reporters in the press room afterward, Murphy revealed he was still in a “daze” after winning the prize and admitted hecouldn’t remember his acceptance speech.“It’s a little bit of — I’m a little bit of a daze, you know,” Murphy said. “I’m very overwhelmed. I’m very humbled. I’m very grateful. And you know, very proud to be — to be Irish standing here today.”Cillian Murphy accepting the award for Best Actor at the 2024 Oscars.PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via GettyMurphy also revealed that if people only remembered him for his role inChristopher Nolan’s moviehe would be “very content."“You know, you’ve got to move forward, but this has been a huge, huge moment for me,” he said. “The movie is so special to me and myself and Chris have such a special relationship that I just feel very privileged to be continuing to work with him.““This is a film that is provocative and that asks questions and is challenging but yet, you know, so many people want to see it,” he added. “So I’m really, really proud of that.”Murphy added that reaching his career achievement with filmmaker Nolan — who was namedBest Directoron Sunday — was “very, very special.”Cillian Murphy winning the Best Actor in a Leading Role award for ‘Oppenheimer’ poses in the press room during the 96th Annual Academy Awards at Ovation Hollywood on March 10, 2024 in Hollywood, California.Rodin Eckenroth/Getty“We’ve been working together for 20 years,” he said. “I think he is the perfect director.“Murphy then revealed that he did a screen test for Nolan when he “was a kid and I thought that would be it.““It would be just enough to be in a room with Chris for a couple of hours and here we are,“ he relected. “So I’m — I’m just so humbled and thankful,” he continued.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.During his acceptance speech earlier in the evening, Murphy shared his appreciation for Nolan, 53, stating, “I owe you more than I can say.”He then thanked “every single crew member,” “every single cast member,” his “incredible team” his family, including his wife of nearly 20 years,Yvonne McGuinness, and their sonsMalachy, 18, and Aran, 16.“I love you so much, and I’m a very proud Irish man standing here tonight,” he said. “It’s really, really meaningful to me and — I don’t know if I said this in my speech because I can’t remember what I said — but I think in Ireland we’re really great at supporting artists and I think we need to continue to support artists and the next generation of actor and director, I think that’s vitally important.”

Cillian Murphy accepting the award for Best Actor at the 2024 Oscars.Photo:PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty

PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty

Cillian Murphyis reflecting on his2024 Oscarswin!TheOppenheimerstar, 47, won Best Actor on Sunday for his performance asJ. Robert Oppenheimerin the hit 2023 movie.Speaking to reporters in the press room afterward, Murphy revealed he was still in a “daze” after winning the prize and admitted hecouldn’t remember his acceptance speech.“It’s a little bit of — I’m a little bit of a daze, you know,” Murphy said. “I’m very overwhelmed. I’m very humbled. I’m very grateful. And you know, very proud to be — to be Irish standing here today.”Cillian Murphy accepting the award for Best Actor at the 2024 Oscars.PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via GettyMurphy also revealed that if people only remembered him for his role inChristopher Nolan’s moviehe would be “very content."“You know, you’ve got to move forward, but this has been a huge, huge moment for me,” he said. “The movie is so special to me and myself and Chris have such a special relationship that I just feel very privileged to be continuing to work with him.““This is a film that is provocative and that asks questions and is challenging but yet, you know, so many people want to see it,” he added. “So I’m really, really proud of that.”Murphy added that reaching his career achievement with filmmaker Nolan — who was namedBest Directoron Sunday — was “very, very special.”Cillian Murphy winning the Best Actor in a Leading Role award for ‘Oppenheimer’ poses in the press room during the 96th Annual Academy Awards at Ovation Hollywood on March 10, 2024 in Hollywood, California.Rodin Eckenroth/Getty“We’ve been working together for 20 years,” he said. “I think he is the perfect director.“Murphy then revealed that he did a screen test for Nolan when he “was a kid and I thought that would be it.““It would be just enough to be in a room with Chris for a couple of hours and here we are,“ he relected. “So I’m — I’m just so humbled and thankful,” he continued.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.During his acceptance speech earlier in the evening, Murphy shared his appreciation for Nolan, 53, stating, “I owe you more than I can say.”He then thanked “every single crew member,” “every single cast member,” his “incredible team” his family, including his wife of nearly 20 years,Yvonne McGuinness, and their sonsMalachy, 18, and Aran, 16.“I love you so much, and I’m a very proud Irish man standing here tonight,” he said. “It’s really, really meaningful to me and — I don’t know if I said this in my speech because I can’t remember what I said — but I think in Ireland we’re really great at supporting artists and I think we need to continue to support artists and the next generation of actor and director, I think that’s vitally important.”

Cillian Murphyis reflecting on his2024 Oscarswin!

TheOppenheimerstar, 47, won Best Actor on Sunday for his performance asJ. Robert Oppenheimerin the hit 2023 movie.

Speaking to reporters in the press room afterward, Murphy revealed he was still in a “daze” after winning the prize and admitted hecouldn’t remember his acceptance speech.

“It’s a little bit of — I’m a little bit of a daze, you know,” Murphy said. “I’m very overwhelmed. I’m very humbled. I’m very grateful. And you know, very proud to be — to be Irish standing here today.”

Cillian Murphy accepting the award for Best Actor at the 2024 Oscars.PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty

Murphy also revealed that if people only remembered him for his role inChristopher Nolan’s moviehe would be “very content.”

“You know, you’ve got to move forward, but this has been a huge, huge moment for me,” he said. “The movie is so special to me and myself and Chris have such a special relationship that I just feel very privileged to be continuing to work with him.”

“This is a film that is provocative and that asks questions and is challenging but yet, you know, so many people want to see it,” he added. “So I’m really, really proud of that.”

Murphy added that reaching his career achievement with filmmaker Nolan — who was namedBest Directoron Sunday — was “very, very special.”

Cillian Murphy winning the Best Actor in a Leading Role award for ‘Oppenheimer’ poses in the press room during the 96th Annual Academy Awards at Ovation Hollywood on March 10, 2024 in Hollywood, California.Rodin Eckenroth/Getty

Rodin Eckenroth/Getty

“We’ve been working together for 20 years,” he said. “I think he is the perfect director.”

Murphy then revealed that he did a screen test for Nolan when he “was a kid and I thought that would be it.”

“It would be just enough to be in a room with Chris for a couple of hours and here we are,“ he relected. “So I’m — I’m just so humbled and thankful,” he continued.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

During his acceptance speech earlier in the evening, Murphy shared his appreciation for Nolan, 53, stating, “I owe you more than I can say.”

He then thanked “every single crew member,” “every single cast member,” his “incredible team” his family, including his wife of nearly 20 years,Yvonne McGuinness, and their sonsMalachy, 18, and Aran, 16.

“I love you so much, and I’m a very proud Irish man standing here tonight,” he said. “It’s really, really meaningful to me and — I don’t know if I said this in my speech because I can’t remember what I said — but I think in Ireland we’re really great at supporting artists and I think we need to continue to support artists and the next generation of actor and director, I think that’s vitally important.”

source: people.com