After making his name battling zombies in 28 Days Later and ruling a ruthless gang in Peaky Blinders, Cillian Murphy has now been recognised as a Hollywood heavyweight after winning his first Oscar for playing the father of the atomic bomb in Oppenheimer.

As an actor with a serious reputation and a serious talent, it was refreshing that the first thing to come out of Murphy's mouth w hen he went on stage to accept his best actor statuette was a joyful laugh. Not someone usually given to public displays of emotion, it was clear how much winning an Oscar meant.

He may have been the frontrunner to win throughout awards season, but he was still "a little overwhelmed" to have the Oscar in his hand, he told the audience. Declaring himself "a very proud Irishman" the first Irish-born star to win best actor at the Oscars, in fact - he did then get serious.

Clearly conscious of his winning role as J Robert Oppenheimer, the US theoretical physicist whose work gave humanity the potential for nuclear annihilation, he dedicated the award to "the peacemakers everywhere".

(By: Steven McIntosh and Ian Youngs, Entertainment reporters. bbc.com)