Golden Globes 2024: Cillian Murphy jokes about lack of seating on Oppenheimer set

Sunday was a big night for Christopher Nolan and his Oppenheimer team as the film won top honours at the Golden Globes 2024. The film's leading man Cillian Murphy won his first Golden Globe award for a spectacular performance in Nolan's Oppenheimer.

Murphy took to the stage and talked about his experience of working with Nolan as he accepted his Best Actor (Drama) award.

Cillian Murphy's acceptance speech

As Murphy's name was announced, his wife planted a kiss on his nose and quickly tried to wipe it off as he made his way to the stage. Murphy got on stage and asked, "Do I have lipstick all over my nose? I'm just gonna leave it," and proceeded with his acceptance speech. Golden Globes 2024: Oppenheimer wins top honours; see full list of winners

“I knew the first time I walked on a Chris Nolan set that it was different. I could tell by the level of rigour, the level of focus, the level of dedication, the complete lack of any seating options for actors,” Murphy quipped with a laugh, “that I was in the hands of a visionary director and master.”

Nolan, who accepted the Golden Globe for Best Director earlier in the ceremony, has directed Murphy in a few other films, such as the Dark Knight trilogy, Inception and Dunkirk.

Murphy gave a shoutout to a number of his co-stars in the biographical film about J Robert Oppenheimer, credited as the father of the atomic bomb. “We had the most incredible ensemble cast in this movie,” the actor said. “It was magic and some of them are here today: Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Gary Oldman. Thank you for carrying me and holding me through this movie." 

Murphy prevailed over fellow nominees Bradley Cooper (Maestro), Leonardo DiCaprio (Killers of the Flower Moon), Colman Domingo (Rustin), Barry Keoghan (Saltburn) and Andrew Scott (All of Us Strangers).

In pics: Golden Globes 2024: Best and worst-dressed celebs on this year's red carpet

Why don't Christopher Nolan's film sets have chairs?

Nolan's disinterest in providing chairs on his film sets is well known. During a 2020 interview, Anne Hathaway — who co-starred with Murphy in Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises — quipped that the filmmaker doesn’t allow chairs on his sets. This led a representative for Nolan to clarify that chairs are not banned, but that he doesn’t like them near the video monitor.

Oppenheimer wins big at Golden Globes

The film won Robert Downey Jr the Best Supporting Actor award while Nolan won the Best Director award. The film also won in the Best Film (Drama) category. TV drama series Succession too won top honours in the TV drama category. Emma Stone won the Best Actress award (Musical or Comedy) for her role in Poor Things. Meanwhile, Greta Gerwig's Barbie, which led the nominations list, only managed to win two awards.