Oppenheimer: Christopher Nolan Wins His First Oscar For Best Director - Watch His Acceptance Speech

At long last, Christopher Nolan has won himself an Oscar! It only took *checks notes* 24 years.

The ambitious filmmaker — who previously landed Oscar noms for Memento, Inception, and Dunkirk — was named Best Director at the 96th annual Academy Awards ceremony Sunday night for his exceptional work on Oppenheimer (now streaming exclusively on Peacock). Nolan beat out Justine Triet (Anatomy of a Fall), Martin Scorsese (Killers of the Flower Moon), Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things), and Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest). The award was presented by none other than the Steven Spielberg.

Running at just over three hours long, the film depicts the life of theoretical physicist and Manhattan Project lead, J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), who helped the United States develop a weapon that would redefine human history. “What I wanted to do was take the audience into the mind and the experience of a person who sat at the absolute center of the largest shift in history,” Nolan states in the official production notes. “Like it or not, J. Robert Oppenheimer is the most important person who ever lived. He made the world we live in, for better or for worse. And his story must be seen to be believed.”

RELATED: How Does Oppenheimer's 3-Hour Runtime Compare to the Longest Films Ever Made?

Watch Christopher Nolan's Oscar Acceptance Speech for Best Director

Nolan thanked a number of people in his acceptance speech, including Universal Pictures chief, Donna Langley; producer Charles Roven; his wife and producing partner, Emma Thomas; the talented cast and crew; and Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, who wrote American Prometheus (the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography upon which the film was based). 

“Movies are just a little bit over a hundred years old. Imagine being there a hundred years into painting or theater," 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. Thank you very much."

How To Watch Oppenheimer Right Now

Oppenheimer is now streaming exclusively on Peacock alongside a slew of behind-the-scenes featurettes.

The NBCUniversal platform currently offers two monthly subscription plans: Premium ($5.99 a month with ads) and Premium Plus ($11.99 a month with no ads and download access for certain titles). If you're a student, you can enjoy the Premium plan for just $1.99 for an entire year!

Not a Peacock subscriber just yet? The film is also available to purchase from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment!