Cillian Murphy to be honoured at Palm Springs International Film Awards

Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy will be honoured with the Desert Palm Achievement Award at the 2023 Palm Springs International Film Awards.

Murphy will receive the honour for his portrayal of physicist J Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan’s critically acclaimed film at the Film Awards on January 4 at the Palm Springs Convention Centre, a press release said.

"After working together on five previous films, including The Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, and Dunkirk, Cillian Murphy and writer-director Christopher Nolan reunite for one of the most ambitious and epic films of the year.

"Murphy gives a stunning portrayal of J. Robert Oppenheimer as a conflicted scientist leading the Manhattan Project to produce the world’s first atomic bomb. For this career-best performance, we are honored to present the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor, to Cillian Murphy," said festival chairman Nachhattar Singh Chandi.

Previous recipients of the actor award include Riz Ahmed, Jeff Bridges, Bradley Cooper, Daniel Day-Lewis and Adam Driver.

Besides Murphy, the Palm Springs International Film Awards will honour Emma Stone with the Desert Palm Achievement Award for her role in Poor Things, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos.

Stone will also receive the honour at the January 4 awards.

The organisers earlier announced that the award gala will present veteran filmmaker Martin Scorsese with the Vanguard Award for his latest film The Killers of the Flower Moon.

The award aims to honour a film’s cast and director for their collective work on an exceptional project.