Christopher Nolan clinches first Oscar for 'Oppenheimer': 'Means the world to me'

Christopher Nolan finally scored his first Oscar win with the highest-grossing biopic, Oppenheimer.

The visionary director of the 21st Century, and after two decades of delivering critically acclaimed movies such as The Dark Knight, Dunkirk, Inception and Memento, Nolan ultimately secured his first Oscar and gave a special shout-out to his producing partner and wife, Emma Thomas.

While accepting his golden gong, he said, “I have so many people to thank. The most incredible cast: Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, and so many others, all at the top of their game led by the incredible Cillian Murphy.”

After thanking his ‘incredible crew’ for their contributions he added, “Thank you for those who have been there for me and have believed in me my whole career. Dan Michael, my brother Jonah, my family”, before proceeding to express gratitude to his wife.

He said, “And the incredible Emma Thomas - producer of all our films and all our children. I love you", recognizing her support throughout his career.

The 53-year-old filmmaker also included the Academy in his acceptance speech and said, “To the Academy — movies are just a little bit over 100 years old”.

Voicing his appreciation he continued, “We don’t know where this incredible journey is going from here. But to know that you think I’m a meaningful part of it means the world to me.”

For those unversed, Oppenheimer was adapted from the 2005 book American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin and includes an impressive lineup of large ensemble cast.

In addition to Nolan’s Best Direction award, the record-breaking movie also took home trophies for Best Actor (Cillian Murphy), Best Supporting Actor (Robert Downey Jr.), Best Score, (Ludwig Göransson), cinematography (Hoyte can Hoytema) and Editing (Jennifer Lame).