Robert Downey Jr. Presents Cillian Murphy With Desert Palm Achievement Award For 'Oppenheimer'

Everybody's nailing it. All these intros and these speeches are so good. I feel kind of like I blew it because they didn't write anything. And I'm not going to make an excuse. I'm just going to offer an explanation. I was distracted. It's the holidays. I had a head cold. And then there was like two earthquakes. There's an earthquake in Japan and California and that activated my crippling seismology anxiety. And then I jotted down some broad stroke stuff just so I don't, we got here. I did no Irish jokes, all caps, and that's it. So I'm just going to ******* wing it. Look at this guy. That's Killian Murphy. And he is an anomaly. He's been an actor's actor for over 20 years and nobody dislikes this guy. That's not easy. Check your own table. Whether it was in his early career, movies like 28 Days Later, Disco Pigs, that was a standout. The Wind That Shakes the Barley or the insanely popular, it's here for Peaky Blinders, for his role as Thomas Shelby, his character work and his onscreen intensity, it just never fails to captivate. It's fricking titillating. And while we all feel we know him from practically every Christopher Nolan film, the characters in all those films, they were largely supporting roles. So I've gotten to know Chris a little bit. He is a long game guy. And so when he picked, and the announcement for Oppenheimer was made with Mr. Murphy as the lead, it kind of all made sense. It was that kind of generational casting decision that gives you chills, just the potential of it. I remember the moment, I was like, ****, they're doing this big movie. Look at these big guys doing these big movies. But if you think about it, J. Robert Oppenheimer is, was, will always be one of the truly archetypal and enigmatic figures of our time. And Killian had just signed up for this literally Herculean task. I think I said it right. No Irish jokes. So as Matt, myself, and half of Hollywood, literally the cast of Ben-Hur signed up to support him, it was an industry-wide endorsement of the massive capability of this guy. Not just potential, you know, that he possessed. I'm gonna pause for applause because someone seemed to kick it off. Biggest non-sequitur applause of the night. Thank you very much. But he hadn't yet demonstrated in a title character in what clearly was, when I heard the announcement, I said, this is gonna be event cinema. And then this guy had to prove it. He had to prove it. And I got to watch him work. And I've been in this game for 40-something years, and I've never had an experience like watching Killian carry the weight of J. Robert on his back. And the whole time with his heart on his sleeve, with all the required sophistication and restraint, and this grueling schedule was brutal. The behemoth arc of emotional stakes, personal sacrifice, conviction, conflict. So, you know, we know the game. When a master filmmaker and lead actor converge at the top of their games to tackle character and subject matter that are historically urgent, it's a joy. And then when it transcends market expectation, reminds us the whole industry has put on notice again that our audience is hungry to be elevated. They're hungry to be challenged, you know, because, again, this is my go-to person over here who's ever kicking this off. We gotta talk. Audience is deeper and smarter than we might tend to give them credit for. That's all I know, you know? But it was a global phenomenon, literally. Oppenheimer was a global phenomenon. Back to my boy. Let me describe him off the cuff. He's brilliant. He's singular. He's wildly uncomfortable with praise, so I can't wait to make him suck it up. He's fiery. He's dynamic. He's passionate. He's an artist through and through. He's wickedly funny, and he just so happens to also be Irish. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thanks, man, for your very, very kind words. I know that you're all aware that Robert Downey Jr. is like a bona fide superstar and an actor of staggering capabilities. Man, your work in Oppenheimer is truly sublime. I think you'd agree with that. But you should also know that he is one of the kindest, most compassionate, generous, funniest humans I've ever had the pleasure of working with. I don't really like talking about myself, so I'm gonna talk about other people, if that's okay. I wanna thank the Palm Springs International Film Festival for giving me this award. It's a real honor to be in the company of past recipients of this award, and also to be in a room with such fiercely talented artists and filmmakers and actors and producers, all of whose work I adored last year. And I think it's safe to say that 2023 was a mighty year for cinema. So, yeah. So it's been 20 years since I first worked with Chris Nolan and Emma Thomas, and it's been a mind-bending, life-changing experience, honestly. And what can I say about Chris Nolan to you? There genuinely isn't enough superlatives to talk about the man and his talent. Suffice to say, when I read the script for Oppenheimer, it was one of the greatest scripts I'd ever read. And I remember talking to you about it, and we both acknowledged that scripts like this, they only come along probably once in your career, if you're lucky. And I kind of knew, I knew that, and I didn't really, I didn't forget that for a moment. I knew it was a responsibility, and I just, I guess I just went for it. I wanna thank everyone at Universal Pictures for all the hard work they did in putting this film out and backing it and believing in it and shepherding it through the summer. And thank you all for your amazing work. All my team are sitting down there. You know who you are. So, some of you guys I've been working with for decades, which is another, dating myself again, but thank you, you're the best. And finally, because I don't ever really get to do this too often, I wanna say thanks to my family. Two thirds of them are sitting down there. We had to leave one of them at home because he's doing exams. But just thanks for putting up with me, putting up with kind of the half me and the shadow me and the absent me and the remains of me when I'm doing a film like this or work in general. You're always there, and I love you for it. Thanks, guys. Thank you.