Cillian Murphy has won the Best Actor in a Leading Role award at the Oscars

In what was a very competitive year, Cillian Murphy has won the award for Best Actor in a Leading Role at the Oscars.

Winning an award at the Oscars is a life-changing event, as it cements the recipient in the history of show business as not many people get their hands on the coveted trophy.

The Best Actor award is one of the most hotly contested of the year, as every year the nominees are incredibly talented and it's almost impossible to find flaws in their work.

This year's nominees were: Bradley Cooper for his work on Maestro, Cillian Murphy for Oppenheimer, Colman Domingo for Rustin, Paul Giamatti for The Holdovers, and Jeffrey Wright for American Fiction.

The Best Actor award is one of the most competitive of the evening. Credit: Andrew H. Walker/Getty

Bradley Cooper got the nod for portraying American composer Leonard Bernstein in Maestro - and although he received criticism for his use of a prosthetic nose, his performance was well deserving of a nomination.

Cillian Murphy was arguably the most notable actor of the year as he portrayed the title character in Oppenheimer, showcasing his incredible versatility as his character was a far cry from Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders.

Colman Domingo played Bayard Rustin in Rustin, an advisor to Martin Luther King Jr., who dedicated his life to the quest for racial equality, human rights, and worldwide democracy.

Each Oscar winner takes home an Academy Award. Credit: Andrew H. Walker/Getty

Paul Giamatti turned heads in The Holdovers as he played a grumpy history teacher who was trapped on campus with a student and a cook over the holidays.

American Fiction centered around a novelist, with the synopsis of the movie reading: "He's fed up with the establishment profiting from Black entertainment uses a pen name to write a book that propels him into the heart of the hypocrisy and madness he claims to disdain."

Jeffrey Wright played Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison in the movie and rightly got a nod at the Oscars.

Despite all of them being worthy winners, the award went to Cillian Murphy, which was well deserved.

Cillian Murphy won the Best Actor award. Credit: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty

Murphy, the unassuming character that he always in, took to the stage and thanked those who made it possible for him to receive such an accolade.

This is his first Academy Award, but given his incredible performance not only this year but in every project he is involved in, it won't be his last.

Featured image credit: Andrew H. Walker/Getty