Cillian Murphy supports Oppenheimer co-star Robert Downey Jr. at Santa Barbara International Film Festival: Maltin Modern Master Award ceremony as Marvel star receives top honor

Entertainment

Cillian Murphy was on hand to cheer on his Oppenheimer co-star Robert Downey Jr. to support during the 39th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival: Maltin Modern Master Award ceremony on Friday.

Downey Jr., 58, was recognized with the esteemed Maltin Modern Master Award at the Arlington Theater.

The 47-year-old Irish actor – who played nuclear physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan's blockbuster – beamed with pride as he posed with the guest of honour.

Dressed in a timeless suit and looking dapper, Cillian was seen with his arm around the Marvel star, who effortlessly stole the spotlight in a stylish purple ensemble.

Downey Jr. – whose searing performance as Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer is generating plenty of Oscar buzz – was also joined by superstar pals Rob Lowe, David Duchovny, Natasha Leggero, Chelsea Peretti and more.

Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr. and Rob Lowe at the 39th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival Friday

Downey Jr., 58, was recognized with the esteemed Maltin Modern Master Award at the Arlington Theater

The Modern Master Award is the highest award according to the SBIFF website.

“Established in 1995, it was created to honor an individual who enriched our culture through achievements in the film industry,” the statement read.

The award was renamed the Maltin Modern Master Award in 2015, in honor of longtime SBIFF moderator and renowned film critic Leonard Maltin.

Past winners include Jamie Lee Curtis Javier Bardem, Nicole Kidman, Bill Murray Brad Pitt, Glenn Close, Gary Oldman and Denzel Washington.

A two-time Academy Award nominee and recipient of the prestigious Golden Globe, Downey Jr. boasts a prolific career with more than 110 acting credits.

Most notably, he took on the iconic role of the title character in the Iron Man franchise, a groundbreaking move that launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

He won a Golden Globe Award for his leading role in the action-adventure film Sherlock Holmes.

He received two Academy Award nominations for his roles in Tropic Thunder and his portrayal of Charlie Chaplin in Richard Attenborough's 1992 biographical film Chaplin.

The handsome trio made it a hilarious evening

Rob Lowe, Sheryl Berkoff and John Owen Lowe made it a family affair

Natasha Leggero was casual and cute in her outfit

Purple was the name of the game for Chelsea Peretti

Natasha Leggero, Chelsea Peretti and Benito Skinner made a great trio

In his role as Lewis Strauss, one of the founding commissioners of the Atomic Energy Commission, which was crucial in shaping America's post-war nuclear policy, Downey Jr. Oppenheimer's main administrative opponent.

He leads the campaign to revoke Oppenheimer's security clearance and discredit him.

Until Downey Jr.'s upcoming acting endeavors. includes his involvement in Max's TV adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Sympathizer, in which he takes on four supporting roles.

Ed Weeks had a casual yet chic look to his ensemble

William Fichtner kept it cool in a leather jacket

Roger Durling, Cillian Murphy, Leonard Maltin, honoree Robert Downey Jr., and Rob Lowe

The handsome actors posed outside the theater

The 47-year-old Irish actor – who played nuclear physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan's blockbuster – beamed with pride as he posed with the guest of honor

He will also star in the Paramount Pictures remake of Alfred Hitchcock's iconic thriller Vertigo.

'Robert Downey Jr. has staged one of the most spectacular second acts in show business history… and we in the audience are the beneficiaries,” Maltin said in a statement ahead of the film festival.

“He controls the screen without any visible effort, which is perhaps the greatest achievement of all.”