Oppenheimer steamrollers towards Oscars with wins at Screen Actors Guild Awards
- The film about the race to build the first atomic bomb took the top honour of best movie cast, with Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jnr winning acting awards
- Lily Gladstone, star of Killers of the Flower Moon, won best actress at the awards, which streamed live on Netflix for the first time
Historical epic Oppenheimer picked up more prizes on Saturday at Hollywood’s Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, bolstering the film’s chances to score the best picture trophy at next month’s Oscars.
The film about the race to build the first atomic bomb took the top honour – best movie cast – handed out by members of the SAG-AFTRA actors union at a red-carpet ceremony in Los Angeles.
Cillian Murphy, who played scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, won best movie actor, and co-star Robert Downey Jnr best supporting actor.
Irish actor Murphy said he took up the profession after trying to make a career as a musician and often felt like an “interloper”.
“This is extremely special to me because it comes from you guys,” Murphy told his fellow actors as he accepted his award.
SAG-AFTRA’s choices are closely watched because actors form the largest group of voters for the Academy Awards, the film industry’s top prizes.
At the moment, Oppenheimer appears unstoppable. Director Christopher Nolan’s drama already has claimed trophies at the Golden Globes, the British Academy Film Awards and other ceremonies. Honours from Producers Guild of America, another key predictor of Oscars success, will be announced on Sunday.
