CILLIAN MURPHY HAS picked up another award for his role in Christopher Nolan’s epic film Oppenheimer.

The Screen Actors Guild Awards were held last night as Hollywood stars attended their union’s first awards gala since staging its longest-ever strike last year.

The mood at the gala was celebratory all round, as members of SAG-AFTRA – the union that represents some 120,000 performers, including A-list stars – congregated in numbers for the first time since the strike ended in November.

The guild ultimately extracted hard-fought gains including better pay and protections against artificial intelligence (AI) from studios including Disney and Netflix.

Oppenheimer has been relentlessly scooping up awards all season and it was no different last night.

Cillian Murphy scooped the award for best male actor in a leading role for his portrayal of J Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb.

Robert Downey Jr also picked up best supporting male actor for his role in Oppenheimer as Lewis Strauss, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission.

Oppenheimer also took home the award for best cast in a motion picture.

The prestigious prize for best performance by a cast at the SAG Awards is historically a strong predictor for the Oscars, and makes Oppenheimer a formidable frontrunner for best picture.

Many of the same actors who vote for the SAG Awards also make up the largest voting bloc for the Academy Awards, which will be held this year on 10 March.

Oppenheimer has now won top prizes at the SAG Awards, the Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, Directors Guild of America Awards, and BAFTAs.

-With additional reporting from - © AFP 2024