Christopher Nolan Honors ‘Dear Friend’ Heath Ledger While Accepting Golden Globe for Best Director

Christopher Nolan was lauded as best director at the Golden Globes for “Oppenheimer,” a grim, three hour historical drama that ignited the box office. It marks Nolan’s first Globe, having been previously nominated for writing 2000’s “Memento,” writing and directing 2010’s “Inception” and directing 2017’s “Dunkirk.” In this year’s race, Nolan was up against Bradley Cooper for “Maestro,” Greta Gerwig for “Barbie,” Yorgos Lanthimos for “Poor Things,” Martin Scorsese for “Killers of the Flower Moon” and Celine Song for “Past Lives.” “The only time I’ve ever been on this stage before was accepting one of these on behalf of our dear friend, Heath Ledger, and that was complicated and challenging for me,” Nolan said.

“In the middle of speaking, I got all stuck, and Robert Downey Jr. caught my eye and gave me a look of love and support — the same look he’s giving me now.” This time around, Nolan said, “I thought it would be simpler accepting for myself. But, as a director, I realize I can only accept this on behalf of people.

As directors, we bring people together and we try to get them to give their best.” He shouted out the ensemble of “Oppenheimer,” including “Robert, Cillian [Murphy] — my partner in crime for 20 years — Matt [Damon], Florence [Pugh], Emily [Blunt], and the incredible work of our amazing crew.” “Oppenheimer,” the unlikiest of summer blockbusters, crushed expectations to become the third highest grossing release of 2023 with $951 million.

The movie, adapted from the Pulitzer Prize winning novel “American Prometheus,” stars Cillian Murphy as American theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who led the development of the atomic bomb. Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh and Alden Ehrenreich round out the cast.

“Oppenheimer” has been nominated for eight Golden Globes — the second most of any film this year — including best actor (Murphy), supporting actor (Downey Jr.), supporting actress (Blunt), screenplay and motion picture – drama. More to come….