Irish actor Cillian Murphy lands Oscar nomination for Oppenheimer performance

Cillian Murphy has been nominated for an Oscar for his performance in last summer’s smash hit movie Oppenheimer.

The Co Cork actor has been included in the Best Actor category for his role in Christopher Nolan’s epic biopic about theoretical physicist J Robert Oppenheimer, described as the father of the atomic bomb.

Some predictions had tipped Irish actors Barry Keoghan and Andrew Scott to be among the the 96th Oscar nominations but this failed to happen.

British star Emily Blunt was recognised in the best supporting actress category for Oppenheimer.

Wham! make chart history as Last Christmas takes second festive number one crown

Blunt, who is already nominated for a Bafta and an SAG award, landed a nod for playing Oppenheimer’s wife Kitty.

She faces competition from US actress Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who has won a slew of precursor prizes for her turn as a cook in The Holdovers, alongside Danielle Brooks for The Color Purple, Jodie Foster for Nyad, and America Ferrera for Barbie.

Oppenheimer leads the nominations, with 13 in total.

Robert Downey Jr landed an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor for his role as Lewis Strauss, the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, in Oppenheimer.

Other nominees include Robert De Niro for Killers Of The Flower Moon, Ryan Gosling for Barbie, Mark Ruffalo for Poor Things, and Sterling K Brown for American Fiction, about a frustrated novelist who writes a book that propels him into the centre of the hypocrisy he disdains.

Greta Gerwig and her husband and co-writer Noah Baumbach have been nominated in the adapted screenplay category for box office juggernaut Barbie, alongside British screenwriter Tony McNamara for Poor Things, adapted from Scottish writer Alasdair Gray’s 1992 novel.

They are joined by British film-maker Nolan for his adaptation of Oppenheimer, Cord Jefferson for American Fiction, and British screenwriter Jonathan Glaze for The Zone Of Interest.

Nominations for the 96th Oscars were announced on Tuesday by Atlanta star Zazie Beetz and The Boys actor Jack Quaid, ahead of the annual ceremony hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.

The Academy Awards ceremony will air from midnight on March 11 in the UK.