Oppenheimer dominated this year’s Bafta Awards after scooping seven prizes, including best film.
Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr and director Christopher Nolan were all honoured for their work on Oppenheimer.
Cillian Murphy was named best actor for playing J Robert Oppenheimer, known as the father of the atomic bomb, while Downey Jr won best supporting actor.
The drama won seven Baftas including best film.
Poor Things picked up five, including best actress for Emma Stone.
Best supporting actress went to Da’Vine Joy Randolph for The Holdovers.
Oppenheimer and the acting winners could well repeat their successes at the Oscars in three weeks – although Oscar and Bafta voters rarely totally agree.
In a surprise appearance, Michael J. Fox announced Oppenheimer as the winner of best film, the top prize at February18 ceremony. The 62-year-old, who has had Parkinson’s disease for more than 30 years, received a standing ovation from the audience.
Cillian Murphy paid tribute to his “Oppenhomies” and praised Christopher Nolan, adding: “Thank you for always pushing me and demanding excellence because that is what you deliver time and time again.”
It was the British director’s first Bafta win, too, following a career that has also encompassed Dunkirk, Inception and The Dark Knight.
Christopher Nolan thanked a cast led by the “peerless and fearless Cillian Murphy” and also acknowledged the film’s backers “for taking on something dark”.
Robert Downey Jr’s win came 31 years after his previous Bafta victory, for the 1993 film Chaplin – a new record for the longest gap between wins by any performer.
The actor played Oppenheimer’s adversary Lewis Strauss following his stint as Tony Stark/Iron Man in a string of Marvel films.
He thanked Christopher Nolan, telling the audience: “Recently that dude suggested I attempt an understated approach as a last-ditch effort to resurrect my dwindling credibility.”
The Bafta Awards’ top films
- 7 wins – Oppenheimer
- 5 – Poor Things
- 3 – The Zone of Interest
- 2 – The Holdovers
