‘Oppenheimer’ ends a 12-year dry spell with Best Picture and Best Actor Oscar wins
For the first time in 12 years, the Best Picture and Best Actor Oscars have gone to the same film. “Oppenheimer” took the top honor at Sunday’s 96th Academy Awards, moments after Cillian Murphy prevailed for his lead turn as J. Robert Oppenheimer.
“The Artist” (2011) was the last film to accomplish this feat as Jean Dujardin nabbed Best Actor. That came a year after “The King’s Speech” and star Colin Firth pulled off the double. Since these back-to-back wins, there have been a few close calls. “Birdman” (2014) won four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, but not for its leading man Michael Keaton. The following year, Leonardo DiCaprio won his long-awaited Best Actor trophy for “The Revenant,” which won Best Director but not Best Picture.
SEE Full list of Oscar winners
“Oppenheimer” is the 28th film to win Best Picture and Best Actor. Of those, thrice has a film also won Best Actress (the three Big Five sweepers: 1934’s “It Happened One Night,” 1975’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and 1991’s “The Silence of the Lambs”). Unsurprisingly, Best Picture and Best Actress have not aligned as often — just 13 times — but it’s happened twice in the last three years. “Nomadland” and Frances McDormand triumphed three years ago — giving McDormand her third and fourth (as a producer) Oscars — and last year saw “Everything Everywhere All at Once” take home an unprecedented six above-the-line Oscars, including a historic Best Actress prize for Michelle Yeoh.
“Oppenheimer” scored seven Oscars altogether. It also won Best Director for Christopher Nolan, Best Supporting Actor for Robert Downey Jr., Best Film Editing for Jennifer Lame, Best Original Score for Ludwig Göransson and Best Cinematography and Hoyte van Hoytema.
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