Cillian Murphy
{{Short description|Irish actor (born 1976)}}
{{For|the actor born Cillian Damien Murphy|Killian Scott}}
{{Featured article}}
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{{Use Hiberno-English|date=November 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Cillian Murphy
| image = Cillian Murphy at Berlinale 2024, Ausschnitt.jpg
| caption = Murphy in Berlinale 2024
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1976|5|25}}
| birth_place = Cork, Ireland
| occupation = {{hlist|Actor|producer}}
| education = University College Cork (no degree)
| works = Full list
| years_active = 1996–present
| spouse = {{marriage|Yvonne McGuinness|2004}}
| children = 2
| awards = Full list
| signature = Cillian Murphy signature.svg
| module = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=|title=Cillian Murphy's voice|type=speech|description=During an appearance on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast
Recorded 27 June 2023}}
}}
Cillian Murphy ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|I|l|i|ə|n}} {{respell|KILL|ee|ən}};{{Cite web |last=Grainger |first=Laura |date=4 July 2023 |title='Cillian': The correct pronunciation and meaning behind Oppenheimer star's name |url=https://www.irishstar.com/culture/entertainment/how-say-cillian-murphy-pronunciation-30388306 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231106002945/https://www.irishstar.com/culture/entertainment/how-say-cillian-murphy-pronunciation-30388306 |archive-date=6 November 2023 |access-date=25 July 2023 |website=Irish Star}} born 25 May 1976) is an Irish actor. His works encompass both stage and screen, and his accolades include an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Golden Globe Award.
He made his professional debut in Enda Walsh's 1996 play Disco Pigs, a role he later reprised in the 2001 screen adaptation. His early film credits include the horror film 28 Days Later (2002), the dark comedy Intermission (2003), the thriller Red Eye (2005), the Irish war drama The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006), and the science fiction thriller Sunshine (2007). He played a transgender Irish woman in the comedy-drama Breakfast on Pluto (2005), which earned him his first Golden Globe Award nomination.
Murphy began his collaboration with filmmaker Christopher Nolan in 2005, playing the Scarecrow in The Dark Knight trilogy (2005–2012) as well as appearing in Inception (2010) and Dunkirk (2017). He gained greater prominence for his role as Tommy Shelby in the BBC period drama series Peaky Blinders (2013–2022) and for starring in the horror sequel A Quiet Place Part II (2020). Murphy portrayed J. Robert Oppenheimer in Nolan's Oppenheimer (2023), for which he won the BAFTA and Academy Award for Best Actor.
Early life and education
File:Introduction to University Programme (IUP) career workshop c.1992 (9423657442).jpg
Murphy was born on 25 May 1976{{cite news |last1=Boland |first1=Yasmin |title=Horoscope |work=TV Guide |date=16 August 2021 |page=72}} in Douglas, Cork. His mother taught French while his father, Brendan, worked for the Department of Education.{{cite news |author=Walsh, John |date=31 March 2007 |title=Murphy's lore: Meet the action hero who looks on the verge of tears |work=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-and-tv/features/murphys-lore-meet-the-action-hero-who-looks-on-the-verge-of-tears-442417.html |url-status=dead |access-date=18 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080420045449/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-and-tv/features/murphys-lore-meet-the-action-hero-who-looks-on-the-verge-of-tears-442417.html |archive-date=20 April 2008}} His grandfather, aunts, and uncles were also teachers. He was raised in Ballintemple, Cork, alongside his younger brother Páidi and younger sisters Sile and Orla.{{cite news |author=O'Sullivan, Gemma |date=1 February 2004 |title=Ireland: Sane Boy of the Western World |newspaper=The Sunday Times |url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/article1006185.ece |url-status=dead |access-date=11 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615064840/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/article1006185.ece |archive-date=15 June 2011}}{{cite web|author=Lytal, Cristy|url=http://www.premiere.com/features/2487/the-24-finest-performances-of-2005-page24.html |title=The 24 Finest Performances of 2005: Cillian Murphy|publisher= Premiere|date= February 2006|access-date=19 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205015457/http://www.premiere.com/features/2487/the-24-finest-performances-of-2005-page24.html |archive-date=5 December 2008 }} He started writing and performing songs at the age of 10.{{cite journal|author=O'Donoghue, Donal|title=Western Hero|journal=RTÉ Guide|date= 6 February 2004}}
Murphy was raised Catholic and attended the fee-paying Catholic secondary school Presentation Brothers College, where he did well academically but often got into trouble, sometimes being suspended; he decided in his fourth year that misbehaving was not worth the hassle. Not keen on sports, which was a major part of the school's curriculum, he found that artistic pursuits were neglected at the school.
Murphy got his first taste of performing in secondary school when he participated in a drama module presented by Corcadorca Theatre Company director Pat Kiernan. He later described the experience as a "huge high" and a "fully alive" feeling that he then set out to chase.{{cite news|author=Jackson, Joe|title=From Cork to Gotham|newspaper=Sunday Independent Life Magazine|date=8 February 2004}} Novelist William Wall, who was his English teacher, encouraged him to pursue acting but he was set on becoming a rock star.{{cite web|author=Kaufman, Anthony|url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/things-to-do/blue-streak|title=Blue Streak|work=Time Out New York|date=10 November 2005|access-date=19 July 2007|archive-date=29 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120929074652/http://www.timeout.com/newyork/things-to-do/blue-streak|url-status=live}} In his late teens and early 20s, he sang and played the guitar in several bands alongside his brother, Páidi, and the Beatles-obsessed duo named their most successful band The Sons of Mr. Green Genes, which they adopted from the Frank Zappa song of the same name. He later said the band "specialised in wacky lyrics and endless guitar solos". They were offered a five-album deal by Acid Jazz Records, which they rejected because Páidi was still in school and the duo did not agree with the small amount of money they would get for giving the record label the rights to Murphy's compositions.{{cite news |author=O'Hagan, Sean |date=11 June 2006 |title=I just want to challenge myself with each role |work=The Observer |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2006/jun/11/features.review1 |url-status=live |access-date=8 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108025956/http://www.theguardian.com/film/2006/jun/11/features.review1 |archive-date=8 January 2014}} Murphy later confessed, "I'm very glad in retrospect that we didn't sign because you kind of sign away your life to a label and the whole of your music."{{cite news |date=10 February 2009 |title=Hollywood star Cillian Murphy has swapped his movie script to spin the disks this week. |newspaper=Evening Herald |location=Dublin |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-193361405.html |url-status=dead |access-date=3 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611073343/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-193361405.html |archive-date=11 June 2014}}{{subscription required}}
Murphy began studying law at University College Cork (UCC) in 1996 but failed his first-year exams because he "had no ambitions to do it". Not only was he busy with his band, but he knew within days after starting at UCC that he did not want to practise law. After seeing Corcadorca's stage production of A Clockwork Orange, directed by Kiernan, he began directing his attention to acting. His first major role was in the UCC Drama Society's amateur production of Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme, which starred Irish-American comedian Des Bishop. Murphy also played the lead in their production of Little Shop of Horrors, which was performed in the Cork Opera House. He later admitted that his primary motivation at the time was not to pursue an acting career, but to go to parties and meet women.
Career
=1996–2002: Theatre work and early roles=
Murphy pressured Pat Kiernan until he got an audition at Corcadorca Theatre Company, and in September 1996, he made his professional acting debut on the stage, playing the part of a volatile Cork teenager in Enda Walsh's Disco Pigs. Walsh recalled meeting and discovering Murphy: "There was something about him – he was incredibly enigmatic and he would walk into a room with real presence and you'd go, "My God". It had nothing to do with those bloody eyes that everyone's going on about all the time." Murphy observed, "I was unbelievably cocky and had nothing to lose, and it suited the part, I suppose".{{cite news |author=Abramowitz, Rachel |date=8 March 2007 |title=Cillian Murphy: More to offer than pale blue eyes |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-mar-11-ca-cillian11-story.html |url-status=live |access-date=10 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080620034239/http://articles.latimes.com/2007/mar/11/entertainment/ca-cillian11 |archive-date=20 June 2008}} Originally intended to run for three weeks in Cork, Disco Pigs ended up touring throughout Europe, Canada and Australia for two years, and Murphy left both university and his band. Though he had intended to go back to playing music, he secured representation after his first agent caught a performance of Disco Pigs, and his acting career began to take off.{{cite news|author=Riley, Jenelle|url=http://www.backstage.com/news/luck-of-the-irish_2/|title=Luck of the Irish|newspaper=Back Stage'|date=18 November 2005|access-date=9 August 2007|archive-date=30 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131030105200/http://www.backstage.com/news/luck-of-the-irish_2/|url-status=live}}
He starred in many other theatre productions, including Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing (1998), The Country Boy, and Juno and the Paycock (both 1999).{{cite book|last1=Willis|first1=John A.|last2=Blum|first2=Daniel C.|title=Screen World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9NVkAAAAMAAJ|year=2002|publisher=Crown Publishers|isbn=9781557834782|access-date=27 February 2016|archive-date=28 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628232406/http://books.google.com/books?id=9NVkAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}} He began appearing in independent films such as On the Edge (2001), and in short films, including Filleann an Feall (2000) and Watchmen (2001).{{Cite web |url=http://directory.irishfilmboard.ie/films/36-filleann-an-feall |title=Filleann an Feall |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304203356/http://directory.irishfilmboard.ie/films/36-filleann-an-feall |archive-date=4 March 2016 |work=Irish Film Board |access-date=2 March 2014}} He also reprised his role for the film adaption of Disco Pigs (2001) and appeared in the BBC television mini-series adaptation of The Way We Live Now.{{cite web|url=http://www.gate-theatre.ie/theshapeofthings.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050208220438/http://www.gate-theatre.ie/theshapeofthings.html|archive-date=8 February 2005|title=The Shape of Things|publisher= Gate-Theatre.ie|access-date=26 February 2014}}{{cite news |last=Harris |first=Will |date=28 August 2011 |title=Cillian Murphy interview |newspaper=The A.V. Club |url=https://www.avclub.com/article/cillian-murphy-64107 |url-status=live |access-date=2 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141030200046/http://www.avclub.com/article/cillian-murphy-64107 |archive-date=30 October 2014}} During this period, he moved from Cork, relocating first to Dublin for a few years, then to London in 2001.{{cite news |author=Heller, Scott |date=1 January 2006 |title=Murphy's law: seek diversity |work=The Boston Globe |url=https://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2006/01/01/murphys_lawseek_diversity/ |url-status=live |access-date=22 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080618172855/http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2006/01/01/murphys_lawseek_diversity/ |archive-date=18 June 2008}} In 2002, Murphy starred as Adam in a theatre production of Neil LaBute's The Shape of Things at the Gate Theatre in Dublin. Writing for The Irish Times, Fintan O'Toole praised Murphy's performance, "Murphy measures out his metamorphosis with an impressive subtlety and intelligence".{{Cite news |last=O'Toole |first=Fintan |date=7 February 2002 |title=Reviews |language=en |newspaper=The Irish Times |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/reviews-1.1049523 |url-status=live |access-date=3 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017134910/https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/reviews-1.1049523 |archive-date=17 October 2020}}
=2002–2004: ''28 Days Later'' and breakthrough=
Murphy was cast in the lead role in Danny Boyle's horror film 28 Days Later (2002). He portrayed pandemic survivor Jim, who is "perplexed to find himself alone in the desolate, post-apocalyptic world" after waking from a coma in a London hospital.{{sfn|Dendle|2012|p=200}} Casting director Gail Stevens suggested that Boyle audition Murphy for the role, having been impressed with his performance in Disco Pigs. Stevens stated that it was only after seeing his slender physique during filming that they decided to feature him fully nude at the beginning of the film.{{sfn|Raphael|2011|p=124}}{{sfn|Derry|2009|p=263}} She recalled that Murphy was shy on set with the tendency to look slightly away from the camera, but enthused that he had a "dreamy, slightly de-energised, floating quality that is fantastic for the film". Released in the UK in late 2002, by the following July, 28 Days Later had become a sleeper hit in North America, and success worldwide, putting Murphy in front of a mass audience for the first time.{{cite news |author=Diorio, Carl |url=https://variety.com/2003/film/news/summer-summary-a-fish-tale-1117890252/ |title=Summer summary: A fish tale |work=Variety |date=3 August 2003 |access-date=17 August 2007 |archive-date=17 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017134909/https://variety.com/2003/film/news/summer-summary-a-fish-tale-1117890252/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last = DiOrio |first = Carl |url=https://variety.com/2003/film/news/summer-of-love-for-specialty-labels-1117890915/ |title = Summer of love for specialty labels |work = Variety |date = 18 August 2003 |access-date = 19 October 2007 |archive-date = 17 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017134909/https://variety.com/2003/film/news/summer-of-love-for-specialty-labels-1117890915/ |url-status = live }} His performance earned him a nomination for Best Newcomer at the 8th Empire Awards, and Breakthrough Male Performance at the 2004 MTV Movie Awards.{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/ontv/movieawards/archive/year.jhtml?year=2004|title= 2004 MTV Movie Awards|publisher= MTV|access-date= 21 October 2007|archive-date= 7 June 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070607140956/http://www.mtv.com/ontv/movieawards/archive/year.jhtml?year=2004|url-status= dead}}{{cite web |title=The Eighth Annual Empire Awards |url=https://www.empireonline.com/awards2003/report.asp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924041704/http://www.empireonline.com/awards2003/report.asp |archive-date=24 September 2015 |access-date=21 October 2007 |work=Empire}} Murphy professed that he considered the film to be much deeper than a zombie or horror film, expressing surprise at the film's success, and that American audiences responded well to its content and violence. Murphy said, "The film did so well. And you watch zombie stuff [now], we were the first people to make zombies run, and [that] changed everything. It has a very special place in my heart, that movie."{{cite web |last1=Moore |first1=Sam |date=25 June 2019 |title=The new '28 Days Later' film — everything we know so far about the third instalment |url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/the-movies-blog/28-days-later-sequel-everything-we-know-so-far-title-release-date-trailer-director-danny-boyle-alex-garland-2514728 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200410191203/https://www.nme.com/blogs/the-movies-blog/28-days-later-sequel-everything-we-know-so-far-title-release-date-trailer-director-danny-boyle-alex-garland-2514728 |archive-date=10 April 2020 |access-date=9 February 2020 |website=NME.com}}
In 2003, Murphy played the role of Konstantine in a stage production of Chekhov's The Seagull at the Edinburgh International Festival. He said that he wanted to play Konstantine because the character "goes on this amazing journey through the play [...] he comes to realise there's no point being an iconoclastic writer just for the sake of it, and that the search for new forms has to have something behind it".{{Cite news |last=Hoggard |first=Liz |date=9 August 2003 |title='I was a Chekhov virgin' |language=en-GB |work=The Observer |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2003/aug/10/features.review37 |url-status=live |access-date=3 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911222943/http://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2003/aug/10/features.review37 |archive-date=11 September 2014 |issn=0029-7712}}
Murphy starred as a lovelorn, hapless supermarket stocker who plots a bank heist with Colin Farrell in Intermission (2003), which became the highest-grossing Irish independent film in Irish box office history (until The Wind That Shakes the Barley broke the record in 2006).{{cite web |date=8 August 2006 |title=Loach Film Sets New Money Mark |url=http://www.rte.ie/news/business/2006/0808/79103-presswatch/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019173806/http://www.rte.ie/news/business/2006/0808/79103-presswatch/ |archive-date=19 October 2013 |access-date=18 July 2007 |publisher=Raidió Teilifís Éireann}} Reflecting on his roles in 28 Days Later and the "sad-sack Dublin shelf-stacker" in Intermission, Sarah Lyall of the International Herald Tribune stated that Murphy brought "fluent ease to the roles he takes on, a graceful and wholly believable intensity. His delicate good looks have, as much as his acting prowess, caused people to mark him as Ireland's next Colin Farrell, albeit one who seems less likely to be caught tomcatting around or brawling drunkenly at premieres."{{cite news |last=Lyall |first=Sarah |date=10 December 2014 |title=Cillian Murphy vies to remain unspoiled |newspaper=International Herald Tribune |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-88356853.html |url-status=dead |access-date=3 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611073341/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-88356853.html |archive-date=11 June 2014}}{{subscription required}} He had a minor supporting role in the successful Hollywood period drama Cold Mountain (2003). He portrayed a deserting soldier who shares a grim scene with Jude Law's character, and was on location in Romania for only a week. Murphy stated that it was a "massive production", remarking that director Anthony Minghella was the calmest director he'd ever met.{{cite news |date=9 August 2003 |title=Just trying to mix it up; With 'The Seagull' in Edinburgh, 'Intermission' set to open and '28 Days Later' a US hit, Cillian Murphy is on a roll, writes Michael Dwyer |newspaper=The Irish Times |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-24687909.html |url-status=dead |access-date=3 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611073357/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-24687909.html |archive-date=11 June 2014}}{{subscription required}} Murphy also had a role as a butcher in Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003) with Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth.{{cite news |date=21 February 2009 |title=SPOTLIGHT ON |newspaper=The Western Mail |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-194199818.html |url-status=dead |access-date=4 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611074931/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-194199818.html |archive-date=11 June 2014}}{{subscription required}}
In 2004, Murphy toured Ireland with the Druid Theatre Company, in The Playboy of the Western World (playing the character of Christy Mahon) under the direction of Garry Hynes—who had previously directed Murphy back in 1999 in the theatre productions of Juno and the Paycock—and also in The Country Boy.{{cite news |date=12 February 2004 |title=The Playboy of the Western World; Town Hall Theatre, Galway |newspaper=The Irish Times |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-24726352.html |url-status=dead |access-date=3 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611073350/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-24726352.html |archive-date=11 June 2014}}{{subscription required}}{{cite news |date=31 March 2008 |title=Juno |newspaper=Variety |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-178119682.html |url-status=dead |access-date=3 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611073352/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-178119682.html |archive-date=11 June 2014}}{{subscription required}}
=2005–2006: Villainous roles and critical success=
Murphy appeared as Dr. Jonathan Crane in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins (2005). Originally asked to audition for the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman, Murphy never saw himself as having the right physique for the superhero, but leapt at the chance to connect with director Nolan. Though the lead went to Christian Bale, Nolan was so impressed with Murphy that he gave him the supporting role of Dr. Crane, whose alter ego is supervillain Scarecrow. Nolan told Spin magazine, "He has the most extraordinary eyes, and I kept trying to invent excuses for him to take his glasses off in close-ups".{{cite journal| last = Itzkoff | first = Dave | title = Cillian's Irish Dread | journal = Spin | date = June 2005}} He starred as Jackson Rippner, who terrorises Rachel McAdams on an overnight flight in Wes Craven's thriller, Red Eye (2005). The New York Times film critic Manohla Dargis asserted that Murphy made "a picture-perfect villain" and that his "baby blues look cold enough to freeze water and his wolfish leer suggests its own terrors".Dargis, Manohla. {{cite news|url=http://movies2.nytimes.com/2005/08/19/movies/19crav.html|title=Sticking Out a Tense Flight With a Terrorist as Seatmate|work=The New York Times|date=19 August 2005|access-date=18 July 2007|archive-date=21 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121204054/http://movies2.nytimes.com/2005/08/19/movies/19crav.html|url-status=live}} The film was favourably reviewed and earned almost $100 million worldwide.{{cite web |title=Red Eye (2005) |website=Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1149496-1149496-red_eye |access-date=11 March 2014 |archive-date=26 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426052442/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1149496-1149496-red_eye/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Red Eye (2005) |website=Box Office Mojo |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=redeye.htm |access-date=11 March 2014 |archive-date=7 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307163258/http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=redeye.htm |url-status=live }}
Murphy received several awards nominations for his 2005 villainous roles, among them a nomination as Best Villain at the 2006 MTV Movie Awards for Batman Begins.{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/ontv/movieawards/archive/year.jhtml?year=2006|title=2006 MTV Movie Awards|publisher=MTV|access-date=28 July 2007|archive-date=7 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107045111/http://www.mtv.com/ontv/movieawards/2007/|url-status=dead}} Entertainment Weekly ranked him among its 2005 "Summer MVPs", a cover story list of 10 entertainers with outstanding breakthrough performances.{{cite magazine|last=Jensen |first=Jeff |url=https://ew.com/article/2005/08/22/summers-movie-star-mvps-cillian-murphy/ |title=Summer's MVPs |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=26 August 2005 |access-date=19 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121009043456/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0%2C%2C1094413_4%2C00.html |archive-date= 9 October 2012 |url-status=dead }} The New Yorker
Murphy starred as Patrick/"Kitten" Braden, a transgender Irish woman in search of her mother, in Neil Jordan's comedy-drama Breakfast on Pluto (2005), based on the novel of the same title by Patrick McCabe. Seen against the film's kaleidoscopic backdrop of 1970s glitter rock fashion, magic shows, red-light districts and IRA violence, Murphy transforms from androgynous teen to a blonde drag queen. He had auditioned for the role in 2001 and, though Jordan liked him for the part, the director of The Crying Game was hesitant to revisit transgender and IRA issues. The actor lobbied Jordan for several years in a bid to get the film made before Murphy became too old to play the part; in 2004, he prepared for the role by meeting a transvestite who dressed him and took him clubbing with other transvestites. The role required "serious primping" with eyebrow plucking and chest and leg hair removal,{{cite journal|title=Red Eye to eye shadow|first=Michael|last=Giltz|journal = The Advocate {{!}} the National Gay & Lesbian Newsmagazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PGUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA73|date=22 November 2005|publisher=Here Publishing|page=73|issn=0001-8996|access-date=27 February 2016|archive-date=28 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628232606/http://books.google.com/books?id=PGUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA73|url-status=live}} and Roger Ebert noted the way that Murphy played the character with a "bemused and hopeful voice".{{sfn|Ebert|2013|p=76}}{{cite news | last = Stein | first = Ruthe |url=http://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Walking-on-thin-gender-line-in-search-of-love-2586631.php | title = Walking on thin gender line in search of love | newspaper = San Francisco Chronicle | date = 23 December 2005 | access-date = 18 July 2007 | archive-date = 8 October 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008084959/http://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Walking-on-thin-gender-line-in-search-of-love-2586631.php | url-status = live }} While lukewarm reviews of Breakfast on Pluto tended to praise Murphy's performance highly,{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/breakfast-on-pluto|title=Breakfast on Pluto|website=Metacritic|access-date=20 October 2007|archive-date=29 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100829142030/http://www.metacritic.com/movie/breakfast-on-pluto|url-status=live}} a few critics dissented: The Village Voice, which panned the film, found him "unconvincing" and overly cute.{{cite news|author=Atkinson, Michael|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/film/men-are-from-mars-bad-transvestite-movies-are-from-pluto-6399556|title=Men Are From Mars, Bad Transvestite Movies Are From Pluto|work=The Village Voice|date=15 November 2005|access-date=21 August 2007|archive-date=18 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150618161718/http://www.villagevoice.com/film/men-are-from-mars-bad-transvestite-movies-are-from-pluto-6399556|url-status=live}} Murphy was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for Breakfast on Pluto{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Movies/12/13/goldenglobes.list/index.html|title=63rd Golden Globe Awards Nominations|publisher=CNN|date=13 December 2005|access-date=26 February 2014|archive-date=2 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102031846/http://edition.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Movies/12/13/goldenglobes.list/index.html|url-status=live}} and won the fourth Irish Film and Television Academy Best Actor Award.{{Cite web |url=http://www.ifta.ie/winners/iftawinners2007.html |title=The 4th Annual Irish Film & Television Awards Winners |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101107032122/http://www.ifta.ie/winners/iftawinners2007.html |archive-date=7 November 2010 |work=IFTA.ie |access-date=21 September 2007}} Premiere magazine cited his performance as Kitten in their "The 24 Finest Performances of 2005" feature.
In 2006, Murphy starred in The Wind That Shakes the Barley, a film about the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War, which won the Palme d'Or at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and became the most successful Irish independent film at the Irish box office.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5025812.stm|title=Loach film wins top Cannes prize|work=BBC News|date=29 May 2006|access-date=25 September 2007|archive-date=23 December 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061223070845/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5025812.stm|url-status=live}} Murphy was especially keen on appearing in the film due to his intimate connections to Cork, Ireland, where the film was shot. Murphy auditioned six times for the role of Damien O'Donovan, a young doctor turned revolutionary, before winning the part. Murphy considered it a very special privilege to have been given the role and stated that he was "tremendously proud" of the film, remarking that the "memories run very, very deep – the politics, the divisions and everybody has stories of family members who were caught up in the struggle."{{cite news |author=Quigley, Maeve |url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-146366167 |title=Star Cillian Will Shake Film World. Murphy Tells of His Joy as Irish Movie Blows Critics Away |newspaper=The Mirror |date=30 May 2006 |access-date=3 March 2014 |archive-date=17 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017134914/https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-146366167/star-cillian-will-shake-film-world-murphy-tells-of |url-status=live }}{{subscription required}} David Denby noted Murphy's moments of deep stillness and idiosyncrasies in portraying the character.{{cite magazine|author=Denby, David|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/03/19/taking-sides|title=Taking Sides|magazine=The New Yorker|date=19 March 2007|access-date=18 July 2007|archive-date=28 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028182932/http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/03/19/taking-sides|url-status=live}} Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times wrote that "Murphy is especially good at playing the zealotry as well as the soul-searching and the regret, at showing us a man who is eaten up alive because he's forced to act in ways that are contrary to his background and his training".{{cite news |author=Turan, Kenneth|url=https://www.latimes.com/cl-et-wind16mar16-story.html |title=The Wind That Shakes the Barley Goes Beyond Zealotry|work= Los Angeles Times|date= 16 March 2007|access-date= 7 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150618171413/http://www.latimes.com/cl-et-wind16mar16-story.html|archive-date=18 June 2015 |url-status=dead}} GQ magazine presented Murphy with its 2006 Actor of the Year award for his work in The Wind That Shakes the Barley.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5319176.stm|title= McCartney is GQ's Man of the Year|work= BBC News|date= 6 September 2006|access-date= 8 September 2006|archive-date= 24 September 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060924155817/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5319176.stm|url-status= live}}
=2006–2012: Further theatre and film roles=
File:InceptionCastPremiereJuly10.jpg in 2010]]
Murphy returned to the stage starring opposite Neve Campbell at the New Ambassadors Theatre in London's West End from November 2006 to February 2007, playing the lead role of John Kolvenbach's play Love Song. Theatre Record described his character of Beane as a "winsomely cranky" mentally unstable "sentimentalised lonely hero", noting how he magnetically, with "all blue eyes and twitching hands", moves "comically from painfully shy "wallpaper" to garrulous, amorous male.{{cite book|title=Theatre Record|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SJgrAQAAIAAJ|year=2006|publisher=I. Herbert|page=1462|access-date=27 February 2016|archive-date=28 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628233608/http://books.google.com/books?id=SJgrAQAAIAAJ|url-status=live}} Variety magazine considered his performance to be "as magnetic onstage as onscreen", remarking that his "unhurried puzzlement pulls the slight preciousness in the character's idiot-savant naivete back from the brink".{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/2006/legit/reviews/love-song-2-1200511666/|title=Love Song|work=Variety|date=5 December 2006|access-date=3 March 2014|archive-date=17 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017134910/https://variety.com/2006/legit/reviews/love-song-2-1200511666/|url-status=live}}
He starred in the science fiction film Sunshine (2007) as a physicist-astronaut charged with re-igniting the sun, also directed by Danny Boyle.{{cite news |last=Bradshaw |first=Peter |title=Sunshine |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/apr/06/actionandadventure.sciencefictionandfantasy |access-date=2 March 2014 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=6 April 2007 |archive-date=6 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306112257/http://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/apr/06/actionandadventure.sciencefictionandfantasy |url-status=live }} He starred opposite Lucy Liu in Paul Soter's romantic comedy Watching the Detectives (2007); the indie film premiered at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival and was released direct-to-DVD.{{cite magazine|author=Hill, Logan|url=https://www.vulture.com/2007/04/lucy_liu.html|title=Lucy Liu: Lesbian Vampire, Party Girl|magazine=New York|date=30 April 2007|access-date=19 October 2007|archive-date=8 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008105106/http://www.vulture.com/2007/04/lucy_liu.html|url-status=live}} Murphy starred as Richard Neville, editor of the psychedelic radical underground magazine Oz in the film Hippie Hippie Shake, which was filmed in 2007, but the project, much delayed, was eventually shelved in 2011.{{cite news|last1=Fleming|first1=Michael|last2=Dawtrey|first2=Adam|url=https://variety.com/2007/film/markets-festivals/hippie-grooves-for-universal-2-1117964175/|title=Hippie grooves for Universal|work=Variety|date=2 May 2007|access-date=2 May 2007|archive-date=17 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017134910/https://variety.com/2007/film/markets-festivals/hippie-grooves-for-universal-2-1117964175/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|author1=Maddox, Garry|author2=Meacham, Steve|url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/hippies-tossed-aside-in-corporate-decision-20110213-1as55.html|title=Hippies tossed aside in corporate decision|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=14 February 2011|access-date=21 October 2012|archive-date=10 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010222616/http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/hippies-tossed-aside-in-corporate-decision-20110213-1as55.html|url-status=live}}
Murphy made a brief re-appearance as the Scarecrow in Nolan's The Dark Knight (2008), the sequel to Batman Begins,{{cite web|title=Cillian Murphy teases 'Dark Knight Rises' Scarecrow return?|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/news/a387509/cillian-murphy-teases-dark-knight-rises-scarecrow-return-video.html|work=Digital Spy|date=15 June 2012|access-date=2 March 2014|archive-date=17 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017134941/https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a387509/cillian-murphy-teases-dark-knight-rises-scarecrow-return-video/|url-status=live}} before starring in The Edge of Love—about a love quadrangle involving the poet Dylan Thomas—with Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller and Matthew Rhys.{{cite news|author=Thomas, Archie|url=https://variety.com/2008/film/markets-festivals/maybury-s-love-to-open-edinburgh-1117983757/|title=Maybury's Love to open Edinburgh|work=Variety|date=9 April 2008|access-date=14 April 2008|archive-date=18 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150618162805/http://variety.com/2008/film/markets-festivals/maybury-s-love-to-open-edinburgh-1117983757/|url-status=live}} In July 2008, Murphy made a debut appearance in another medium—on a postage stamp; the Irish Post Office, An Post, released a series of four stamps paying homage to the creativity of films recently produced in Ireland, including one featuring Murphy in a still from The Wind That Shakes the Barley.{{cite news |date=8 July 2008 |title=Filmed in Ireland |url=http://www.anpost.ie/AnPost/News+and+Information/Filmed+in+Ireland.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017134948/https://www.anpost.com/Media-Centre/News |archive-date=17 October 2020 |access-date=16 June 2013 |work=An Post}} In 2009, Murphy starred opposite rock singer Feist and actor David Fox in The Water, directed by Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene. The 15-minute Canadian short film, released online in April 2009, is nearly silent until the Feist song of the same title plays close to the end. Murphy was attracted to the role as a fan of Broken Social Scene and the prospect of making a silent movie, which he considered to be the "hardest test for any actor".{{cite web|url=http://www.ifc.com/fix/2009/04/cillian-murphy-the-water|title=Cillian Murphy Takes to 'The Water'|publisher=Ifc.com|date=8 April 2009|access-date=3 March 2014|archive-date=15 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615145124/http://www.ifc.com/fix/2009/04/cillian-murphy-the-water|url-status=live}} Murphy also starred in Perrier's Bounty, a crime dramedy from the makers of Intermission, in which he portrayed a petty criminal on the run from a gangster played by Brendan Gleeson.{{cite news |last=Morris |first=Wesley |title=Perrier's Bounty: Gangster dramedy swears by standard road trip formula |work=The Boston Globe |date=9 July 2010 |url=https://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2010/07/09/perriers_bounty_movie_review____perriers_bounty_showtimes |access-date=19 June 2015 |archive-date=19 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150619111637/http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2010/07/09/perriers_bounty_movie_review____perriers_bounty_showtimes/ |url-status=live }}
In 2010, he made a return to theatre in From Galway to Broadway and back again, which was a stage show that celebrated the Druid Theatre Company's 35th birthday.{{cite web|title=From Galway to Broadway and back again 2010 – Galway|url=http://www.druid.ie/productions/from-galway-to-broadway-and-back-again#about|publisher=Druid Theatre Company|access-date=2 August 2013|archive-date=18 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150618162222/http://www.druid.ie/productions/from-galway-to-broadway-and-back-again#about|url-status=live}} The direct-to-video psychological thriller Peacock (2010), co-starring Elliot Page, Susan Sarandon and Bill Pullman, starred Murphy as a man with a split personality who fools people into believing he is also his own wife. Christian Toto of The Washington Times referred to the film as "a handsomely mounted psychological drama with an arresting lead turn by Cillian Murphy", and noted that although Murphy wasn't a stranger to playing in drag, his work in the film set a "new standard for gender-bending performances".{{cite news |url=http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/movies-toto/2010/apr/21/dvd-review-peacock/|title=DVD review: 'Peacock'|publisher=The Washinginton Times |date=21 April 2010 |access-date=3 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100428075456/http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/movies-toto/2010/apr/21/dvd-review-peacock/ |archive-date=28 April 2010 }} Murphy next starred in Christopher Nolan's Inception (2010), playing entrepreneur Robert Fischer, whose mind is infiltrated by DiCaprio's character Cobb to convince him to dissolve his business.{{cite book|title=The Hawk-Eye -September issue-|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oKPvO9PtAF0C&pg=PA8|publisher=The Hawk-Eye|page=8|access-date=27 February 2016|archive-date=28 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628232844/http://books.google.com/books?id=oKPvO9PtAF0C&pg=PA8|url-status=live}} That year, Murphy also made an uncredited cameo as programmer Edward Dillinger Jr., son of original Tron antagonist Ed Dillinger (David Warner) in Tron: Legacy.{{cite news|last1=Jagernauth|first1=Kevin|title=Which Actor Makes A Surprise Cameo In 'Tron: Legacy' (And Is Maybe Set Up As A Future Villain)?|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2010/12/which-actor-makes-a-surprise-cameo-in-tron-legacy-and-is-maybe-set-up-as-a-future-villain-121443/|website=IndieWire|access-date=24 November 2017|date=7 December 2010|archive-date=1 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201035728/http://www.indiewire.com/2010/12/which-actor-makes-a-surprise-cameo-in-tron-legacy-and-is-maybe-set-up-as-a-future-villain-121443/|url-status=live}}
In 2011, Murphy performed in the stage monodrama Misterman, written and directed by Enda Walsh, with whom he had previously worked on Disco Pigs. The production was initially staged in Galway and was taken to St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn, New York. Murphy said of the role, "The live nature of it makes it so dangerous. You're only there because of the goodwill of the audience, and that's compounded by its being a one-man show." His performance earned critical acclaim, garnering Irish Times Theatre Award and a Drama Desk Award.{{cite web|url=http://www.irishcentral.com/culture/entertainment/inception-actor-cillian-murphy-wins-theatre-award-for-misterman-140860913-237432721.html|title=Inception actor Cillian Murphy wins theatre award for Misterman|publisher=Irishcentral.com|date=29 February 2012|access-date=29 May 2012|archive-date=18 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150618155632/http://www.irishcentral.com/culture/entertainment/inception-actor-cillian-murphy-wins-theatre-award-for-misterman-140860913-237432721.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.cultureireland.ie/news/article/cillian-murphy-wins-drama-desk-award-for-misterman|title=Cillian Murphy wins Drama Desk Award for Misterman|publisher=Cultureireland.ie|date=7 June 2012|access-date=10 June 2012|archive-date=27 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927044652/http://www.cultureireland.ie/news/article/cillian-murphy-wins-drama-desk-award-for-misterman|url-status=dead}} Sarah Lyall of the International Herald Tribune described Murphy's character Thomas Magill to be a "complicated mixture of sympathetic and not nice at all – deeply wounded, but with a dangerous, skewed moral code", praising his ability to mimic wickedly. Lyall noted Murphy's "unusual ability to create and inhabit creepy yet fascinating characters from the big screen to the small stage in the intense one-man show Misterman", and documented that on one evening the "theatre was flooded, not with applause but with silence", eventually culminating in a standing ovation at his powerful performance.{{cite news |author=Lyall, Sarah |date=26 September 2011 |title=One stage can barely contain him; Cillian Murphy packs lots of emotion and energy into one-man show |newspaper=International Herald Tribune |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-200584111.html |url-status=dead |access-date=3 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611073331/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-200584111.html |archive-date=11 June 2014}} {{subscription required}} He played the lead in the British horror film Retreat (2011), which had a limited release. He also appeared in the science fiction film In Time (2011), starring Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried, which was poorly reviewed.{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/in_time/|title=In Time|work=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=11 March 2014|archive-date=27 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170427003357/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/in_time/|url-status=live}}
Murphy starred in Red Lights (2012) with Robert De Niro and Sigourney Weaver. He played Tom Buckley, the assistant to Weaver's character who is a paranormal investigator. Murphy considered working with De Niro to have been one of the most intimidating moments in his career. He remarked: "My first scene when I come to visit him my character is supposed to be terrified and intimidated. There was no acting involved. The man has presence. You can't act presence. I'll never have that. Watching him use it... when you put a camera on it, it just becomes something else."{{cite news|url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-293032412|title=There Was No Acting in My De Niro Terror! Interview: Cillian Murphy|newspaper=The Birmingham Post|date=14 June 2012|access-date=3 March 2014|archive-date=17 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017134949/https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-293032412/there-was-no-acting-in-my-de-niro-terror-interview|url-status=live}}{{subscription required}} The film was panned by critics and under-performed at the box office.{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/red_lights_2012/|title= Red Lights|website= Rotten Tomatoes|access-date= 2 March 2014|archive-date= 3 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203094524/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/red_lights_2012/|url-status= live}}{{cite web|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=redlights2012.htm|title=Red Lights (2012)|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=3 March 2014|archive-date=26 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326114113/http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=redlights2012.htm|url-status=live}} Murphy went on to reprise his role as the Scarecrow for the third time in The Dark Knight Rises (2012),{{cite web|title='Batman Begins' actor back for 'The Dark Knight Rises'|url=https://www.nme.com/filmandtv/news/batman-begins-actor-back-for-the-dark-knight-ris/247870|work=NME|publisher=IPC Media Entertainment Network|access-date=21 September 2012|date=30 September 2011|archive-date=4 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120104025945/http://www.nme.com/filmandtv/news/batman-begins-actor-back-for-the-dark-knight-ris/247870|url-status=live}} and had a supporting role as Mike in the British independent film Broken (2012). His performance earned him a British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/nov/06/broken-british-independent-film-award-nominations|author=Child, Ben|title=Broken fixed up with nine British independent film award nominations|newspaper=The Guardian|date=6 November 2012|access-date=4 March 2014|archive-date=6 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306230256/http://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/nov/06/broken-british-independent-film-award-nominations|url-status=live}}
=2013–present: ''Peaky Blinders'' and ''Oppenheimer''=
Beginning in 2013, Murphy starred as Thomas Shelby in the BBC television series Peaky Blinders, a series about a criminal gang in Birmingham during the post-World War I period.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2012/peakyblinders.html|title=BBC Two announces drama series Peaky Blinders|publisher=BBC|access-date=3 March 2014|archive-date=2 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191002215034/https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2012/peakyblinders.html|url-status=live}} Jason Statham was initially picked for the role by director Steven Knight, who met both actors to talk about the role.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/jason-statham-peaky-blinders-cillian-murphy-tommy-shelby-steven-knight-a9545736.html|title=Peaky Blinders: Jason Statham lost Tommy Shelby role over text message, Steven Knight reveals|last=White|first=Adam|date=3 June 2020|work=The Independent|access-date=15 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200618045720/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/jason-statham-peaky-blinders-cillian-murphy-tommy-shelby-steven-knight-a9545736.html|archive-date=18 June 2020}} Knight later said, "Cillian, when you meet him, isn't Tommy, obviously, but I was stupid enough not to understand that". He picked Murphy after receiving a text message from Murphy that read, "Remember, I'm an actor". Murphy told The Independent, "[The scripts] were so compelling and confident, and the character was so rich and complex, layered and contradictory. I was like, 'I have to do this.'"{{cite news|last=Williams|first=Holly|title=Cillian Murphy: 'My foot's in the door... I hang out with musicians|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/cillian-murphy-my-foots-in-the-door-i-hang-out-with-musicians-8803226.html|access-date=11 March 2014|newspaper=The Independent|date=8 September 2013|archive-date=17 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017134952/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/cillian-murphy-my-foot-s-door-i-hang-out-musicians-8803226.html|url-status=live}} Peaky Blinders was praised and received high ratings. A second series began broadcasting on the BBC in October 2014. On 25 August 2019, the first episode of season 5 was broadcast on BBC One. In an interview with Digital Spy,{{Cite web |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a32914522/peaky-blinders-season-6-release-date-addressed/ |title=Peaky Blinders season 6 potential release date addressed by director Anthony Byrne |date=20 June 2020|first=Laurence|last=Mozafari |website=Digital Spy |access-date=14 August 2020 |archive-date=6 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806121115/https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a32914522/peaky-blinders-season-6-release-date-addressed/ |url-status=live }} director Anthony Byrne said, "if we did start shooting in January (2021), we wouldn't finish until May or June and then it's another 6 months of editing". Series six premiered on 27 February 2022.{{cite web |title=Peaky Blinders season 6: Release date, time, trailers, plot and news |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/peaky-blinders-season-six-release-date/ |publisher=Radio Times |access-date=25 July 2023 |archive-date=24 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224205622/https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/peaky-blinders-season-six-release-date/ |url-status=live }}
In 2013, Murphy made his directorial debut with a music video for the band Money's single Hold Me Forever. The video features dancers from the English National Ballet and was filmed at The Old Vic Theatre in London.{{cite web|title=Watch: 'Inception' Star Cillian Murphy's Directorial Debut, a 'Meh'-Worthy Ballet Music Video|date=3 July 2013|url=https://www.indiewire.com/article/watch-inception-star-cillian-murphys-directorial-debut-a-meh-worthy-ballet-music-video|publisher=Indiewire.com|access-date=3 July 2013|archive-date=6 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130706104742/http://www.indiewire.com/article/watch-inception-star-cillian-murphys-directorial-debut-a-meh-worthy-ballet-music-video|url-status=live}} In 2014, Murphy starred in the drama Aloft,{{cite news|url=https://www.questia.com/read/1P3-3170561021|title=10 4 14|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|date=2 January 2014|access-date=4 March 2014|archive-date=17 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017134951/https://www.questia.com/read/1P3-3170561021/10-4-14|url-status=live}}{{subscription required}} and Wally Pfister's Transcendence.{{cite news |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-3163970211.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611074933/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-3163970211.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 June 2014|title=Essence – (24-12-2013)|newspaper=Daily News |location=Colombo |date=24 December 2013|access-date=4 March 2014}} {{subscription required}} Both of these garnered mostly unfavourable critic reviews according to the aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.{{Citation|title=Aloft (2015)|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/aloft|work=Rotten Tomatoes|language=en|access-date=11 October 2020|archive-date=22 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161222223954/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/aloft|url-status=live}}{{Citation|title=Transcendence (2014)|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transcendence_2014|work=Rotten Tomatoes|language=en|access-date=11 October 2020|archive-date=29 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171129230602/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transcendence_2014/|url-status=live}} That same year, Murphy reunited with Enda Walsh in the play Ballyturk.{{cite news |last=Clapp |first=Susannah |author-link=Susannah Clapp |title=Ballyturk review – frenzied, incessant, sententious |work=Stage reviews |publisher=The Guardian |date=21 September 2014 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/sep/21/ballyturk-lyttelton-review-enda-walsh-frenzied-incessant-sententious |access-date=7 October 2014 |archive-date=14 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141014091417/http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/sep/21/ballyturk-lyttelton-review-enda-walsh-frenzied-incessant-sententious |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=World Premiere: 'I thought we knew everything there was to know.' |publisher=Galway International Arts Festival |date=16 July 2014 |url=http://www.giaf.ie/events/view/ballyturk |access-date=7 October 2014 |archive-date=23 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150523065245/http://www.giaf.ie/events/view/ballyturk |url-status=live }} He starred in Ron Howard's 2015 film In the Heart of the Sea.{{cite web|title=Cillian Murphy Headed To The Heart Of The Sea|url=https://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=37880|work=Empire|access-date=21 June 2013|archive-date=1 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140101093916/http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=37880|url-status=live}} In 2015, he contributed spoken vocals to the tracks "8:58" and "The Clock" from Paul Hartnoll's album 8:58. The two previously met while Hartnoll was scoring the second season of Peaky Blinders.{{cite web|title=Cillian Murphy Stars in "The Clock" Video From Paul Hartnoll (Ex-Orbital)|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/58664-cillian-murphy-stars-in-the-clock-video-from-paul-hartnoll-ex-orbital/|website=Pitchfork|access-date=23 November 2017|date=2 March 2015|archive-date=1 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201042737/https://pitchfork.com/news/58664-cillian-murphy-stars-in-the-clock-video-from-paul-hartnoll-ex-orbital/|url-status=live}} In 2016, Murphy starred in Ben Wheatley's Free Fire,{{Cite web|title=Cillian Murphy & Michael Smiley to Star in Ben Wheatley's Next Film {{!}} The Irish Film & Television Network|url=http://www.iftn.ie/actors/actorsnews/?act1=record&only=1&aid=73&rid=4287685&tpl=archnews&force=1|access-date=23 March 2021|website=www.iftn.ie|archive-date=12 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612163636/http://www.iftn.ie/actors/actorsnews/?act1=record&only=1&aid=73&rid=4287685&tpl=archnews&force=1|url-status=live}} and portrayed Czechoslovak World War II army soldier Jozef Gabčík, who was involved in Operation Anthropoid, the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in Anthropoid.{{cite news|last1=Hawksley|first1=Rupert|title=Nazi nail-biter Anthropoid shows Jamie Dornan has many more than 50 shades – review|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2016/09/08/nazi-nail-biter-anthropoid-shows-jamie-dornan-has-many-more-than/|website=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=24 November 2017|date=8 September 2016|archive-date=22 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171122030339/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2016/09/08/nazi-nail-biter-anthropoid-shows-jamie-dornan-has-many-more-than/|url-status=live}} Rupert Hawksley of The Telegraph believed Cillian's performance in Anthropoid, but opined that he is "not asked to do an awful lot, other than smoke and look perplexed".{{Cite news|last=Hawksley|first=Rupert|date=8 September 2016|title=Nazi nail-biter Anthropoid shows Jamie Dornan has many more than 50 shades – review|language=en-GB|work=The Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2016/09/08/nazi-nail-biter-anthropoid-shows-jamie-dornan-has-many-more-than/|access-date=11 October 2020|issn=0307-1235|archive-date=29 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129033336/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2016/09/08/nazi-nail-biter-anthropoid-shows-jamie-dornan-has-many-more-than/|url-status=live}}
In 2017, Murphy played a shell-shocked army officer who is recovered from a wrecked ship in Christopher Nolan's war film Dunkirk, which emerged as a critical and box-office success.{{Cite web |last=McMillan |first=Graeme |date=17 July 2017 |title='Dunkirk': What the Critics Are Saying |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/dunkirk-review-roundup-what-critics-are-saying-1021889 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170720161842/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/dunkirk-review-roundup-what-critics-are-saying-1021889 |archive-date=20 July 2017 |website=The Hollywood Reporter}}{{Cite web |last=Brace |first=Samuel |date=12 September 2017 |title=Dunkirk becomes the highest grossing WWII film of all time |url=https://www.flickeringmyth.com/2017/09/dunkirk-becomes-the-highest-grossing-wwii-film-of-all-time/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170913074431/https://www.flickeringmyth.com/2017/09/dunkirk-becomes-the-highest-grossing-wwii-film-of-all-time/ |archive-date=13 September 2017 |website=Flickering Myth}} He felt that his character, who is nameless and was credited simply as Shivering Soldier, was "representative of something experienced by thousands of soldiers, which is the profound emotional and psychological toll that war can have".{{cite web|last1=Brightmore|first1=Dan|title=Cillian Murphy talks 'Dunkirk' and working with Christopher Nolan|url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/the-movies-blog/cillian-murphy-dunkirk-interview-christopher-nolan-2112789|website=NME|access-date=23 November 2017|date=20 July 2017|archive-date=1 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201033957/http://www.nme.com/blogs/the-movies-blog/cillian-murphy-dunkirk-interview-christopher-nolan-2112789|url-status=live}} Murphy has also played a role in the feature film Anna as Miller, released in June 2019. His next release, A Quiet Place Part II (2021), stars Murphy as Emmett, a hardened survivor and old family friend of the Abbotts. Murphy's character reluctantly takes in the Abbotts following the events of the first film.{{cite news |last=Kroll |first=Katy |date=7 June 2021 |title=How Cillian Murphy Accidentally Changed The Way A Quiet Place Part II Was Filmed – Exclusive |url=https://www.looper.com/429805/how-cillian-murphy-accidentally-changed-the-way-a-quiet-place-part-ii-was-filmed-exclusive/ |work=Loop |access-date=9 July 2021 |archive-date=9 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709190728/https://www.looper.com/429805/how-cillian-murphy-accidentally-changed-the-way-a-quiet-place-part-ii-was-filmed-exclusive/ |url-status=live }} Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian praised his performance.{{Cite web|date=18 May 2021|title=A Quiet Place Part II review – Emily Blunt horror is something to scream about|url=http://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/may/18/a-quiet-place-part-ii-review-emily-blunt-horror-is-a-something-to-scream-about|access-date=7 June 2021|magazine=The Guardian|archive-date=6 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210606213526/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/may/18/a-quiet-place-part-ii-review-emily-blunt-horror-is-a-something-to-scream-about|url-status=live}}
File:Cillian Murphy Press Conference The Party Berlinale 2017 02cr.jpg at the Berlinale in 2017]]
Since 2020, Murphy has hosted Cillian Murphy's Limited Edition, a limited-run radio series broadcasting on BBC Radio 6 Music in which he draws from his personal music collection and answers "reasonable questions" from listeners. As of 2024, three seasons of Limited Edition have been produced, totalling 28 episodes.{{Cite web |date=17 September 2023 |title=Cillian Murphy's Limited Edition |url=https://www.bbc.com/mediacentre/proginfo/2023/38/cillian-murphys-limited-edition |access-date=2 June 2024 |archive-date=1 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241001020810/https://www.bbc.com/mediacentre/proginfo/2023/38/cillian-murphys-limited-edition |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Cillian Murphy's Limited Edition |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000nwdn |access-date=2 June 2024 |archive-date=3 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240603010052/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000nwdn |url-status=live }}
Murphy portrayed J. Robert Oppenheimer in the biographical thriller Oppenheimer.{{Cite web |last=Keegan |first=Rebecca |date=14 July 2023 |title="This Can't Be Safe. It's Got to Have Bite": Christopher Nolan and Cast Unleash 'Oppenheimer' |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/oppenheimer-christopher-nolan-cast-interview-film-1235535418/ |access-date=23 July 2023 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US |archive-date=20 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720013003/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/oppenheimer-christopher-nolan-cast-interview-film-1235535418/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web | url = https://deadline.com/2021/10/cillian-murphy-j-robert-oppenheimer-christopher-nolans-universal-film-july-2023-1234852888/ | title = Cillian Murphy Confirmed to Star As J. Robert Oppenheimer In Christopher Nolan's Next Film At Universal, Film Will Bow in July 2023 | first = Justin | last = Knoll | date = 8 October 2021 | access-date = 8 October 2021 | work = Deadline Hollywood | archive-date = 8 October 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211008180121/https://deadline.com/2021/10/cillian-murphy-j-robert-oppenheimer-christopher-nolans-universal-film-july-2023-1234852888/ | url-status = live }} The film marks the sixth collaboration between Nolan and Murphy, and the first starring Murphy as the lead. To prepare for the role, Murphy lost a significant amount of weight to match Oppenheimer's near-emaciated appearance, extensively researched Oppenheimer's life and took inspiration from David Bowie's appearance in the 1970s.{{Cite web |last=Cumming |first=Ed |date=20 February 2022 |title='It's the end of a big adventure': Cillian Murphy bids farewell to Peaky Blinders |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/feb/20/its-the-end-of-a-big-adventure-cillian-murphy-bids-farewell-to-peaky-blinders |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220220080953/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/feb/20/its-the-end-of-a-big-adventure-cillian-murphy-bids-farewell-to-peaky-blinders |archive-date=20 February 2022 |access-date=21 February 2022 |website=The Guardian}} Released in 2023, the film grossed over $975 million worldwide and garnered positive reviews from critics.{{Cite The Numbers|id=Oppenheimer-(2023)|title=Oppenheimer|access-date=14 May 2024}}{{Cite web |last=Couch |first=Aaron |date=11 July 2023 |title='Oppenheimer': First Reactions After Paris Premiere |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/oppenheimer-first-reactions-christopher-nolan-movie-1235533586/ |access-date=23 July 2023 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US |archive-date=22 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230722225356/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/oppenheimer-first-reactions-christopher-nolan-movie-1235533586/ |url-status=live }} Murphy's performance was lauded, with Empire's Dan Jolin writing: "At the film's pulsing nucleus is Murphy as Oppenheimer, and he is compelling throughout."{{Cite news |last=Jolin |first=Dan |date=19 July 2023 |title=Oppenheimer Review |work=Empire |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/oppenheimer/ |url-status=live |access-date=20 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230721135011/https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/oppenheimer/ |archive-date=21 July 2023}} For his performance, he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama, BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role, and Academy Award for Best Actor.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/oscars-best-actor-cillian-murphy-oppenheimer-1235848109/|title=Oscars: 'Oppenheimer' Star Cillian Murphy Dedicates Best Actor Win to "Peacemakers Everywhere"|last=Verhoeven|first=Beatrice|date=10 March 2024|magazine=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=11 March 2024|archive-date=11 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240311151458/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/oscars-best-actor-cillian-murphy-oppenheimer-1235848109/|url-status=live}}
Murphy launched the independent production company Big Things Films with Alan Moloney in February 2024.{{Cite web |last=Tartaglione |first=Nancy |date=8 February 2024 |title=Cillian Murphy Sets Next Movie: Will Star In & Produce 'Steve' For Netflix As He & Alan Moloney Officially Launch Production Company Big Things Films – Q&A |url=https://deadline.com/2024/02/cillian-murphy-cast-producing-netflix-steve-big-things-films-1235819095/ |access-date=8 February 2024 |website=Deadline |language=en-US |archive-date=8 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240208183935/https://deadline.com/2024/02/cillian-murphy-cast-producing-netflix-steve-big-things-films-1235819095/ |url-status=live }} He produced and starred in the historical drama Small Things like These, which opened the 74th Berlin International Film Festival,{{Cite web |last=Shafer |first=Ellise |date=18 January 2024 |title=Cillian Murphy Historical Drama 'Small Things Like These' to Open Berlin Film Festival |url=https://variety.com/2024/film/festivals/cillian-murphy-small-things-like-these-open-berlin-film-festival-1235876149/ |access-date=8 February 2024 |website=Variety |language=en-US |archive-date=1 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240201151323/https://variety.com/2024/film/festivals/cillian-murphy-small-things-like-these-open-berlin-film-festival-1235876149/ |url-status=live }} and the upcoming drama film Steve, through a collaboration with Netflix.{{Cite web |last=Tartaglione |first=Nancy |date=3 July 2024 |title=Cillian Murphy-Led 'Steve' Wraps Production With Jay Lycurgo Co-Starring: First-Look Set Photo |url=https://deadline.com/2024/07/cillian-murphy-steve-jay-lycurgo-cast-first-look-photo-netflix-1236000616/ |access-date=4 July 2024 |website=Deadline |language=en-US |archive-date=4 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240704093733/https://deadline.com/2024/07/cillian-murphy-steve-jay-lycurgo-cast-first-look-photo-netflix-1236000616/ |url-status=live }} Murphy will also star in and executive produce two sequels to 28 Days Later, titled 28 Years Later and 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.{{Cite web |last=Kit |first=Borys |date=31 January 2024 |title=Zombie Sequel '28 Years Later' Lands at Sony (Exclusive) |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/28-years-later-lands-home-sony-1235804926/ |access-date=8 February 2024 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US |archive-date=6 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240206184230/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/28-years-later-lands-home-sony-1235804926/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=Bolt |first=Neil |title=28 Years Later Sequel Title Revealed in Copyright Filing |url=https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/1778113-28-years-later-sequel-name-the-bone-temple |website=ComingSoon.net |access-date=24 June 2024 |date=24 June 2024}} Additionally, Murphy will reprise his role as Shelby in the film The Immortal Man, which will serve as a continuation of the Peaky Blinders series.{{Cite web |date=8 October 2024 |title=Filming for movie The Immortal Man begins at former Pilks site |url=https://www.sthelensstar.co.uk/news/24639078.filming-peaky-blinders-immortal-man-begins-st-helens/ |access-date=11 October 2024 |website=St Helens Star}}
Public image
Reserved and private, Murphy professes a lack of interest in the celebrity scene, finding the red carpet experience "a challenge" that he does not "want to overcome".{{cite news|author=Brady, Tara|url=http://www.hotpress.com/features/interviews/2918769.html|title=Here Comes the Sun|newspaper=Hot Press|date=19 April 2007|access-date=18 July 2007|archive-date=27 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927002033/http://www.hotpress.com/features/interviews/2918769.html|url-status=live}} He intentionally practises a lifestyle that will not interest the tabloids, stating, "I haven't created any controversy, I don't sleep around, I don't go and fall down drunk". He prefers not to speak about his life outside of acting and did not appear on any television talk shows until 2010, when he was a guest on Ireland's Late Late Show to promote Perrier's Bounty, though he still remained reserved.{{cite news|last=Eyre|first=Hermione|title=Cillian Murphy is shaking up theatre this spring|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/esmagazine/cillian-murphy-is-shaking-up-theatre-this-spring-7643078.html|access-date=11 March 2014|newspaper=Evening Standard|date=13 April 2012|archive-date=11 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140311125842/http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/esmagazine/cillian-murphy-is-shaking-up-theatre-this-spring-7643078.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.rte.ie/tv/latelate/20100319.html|title=Late Late Show: Friday, 19 March 2010|website=RTÉ.ie|access-date=26 February 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028052808/http://www.rte.ie/tv/latelate/20100319.html|archive-date=28 October 2014}} Murphy's introverted nature and lack of interest in social media has prompted several fans to create memes on his detached demeanour in press interviews and junkets.{{cite news |last1=Kelly |first1=Guy |title=Cillian Murphy's strange journey from jazz crooner to 'the greatest actor of his generation' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/cillian-murphy-oppenheimer-oscars-baftas-best-actor/ |website=The Telegraph |date=19 February 2024 |access-date=24 May 2024 |archive-date=24 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240524045207/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/cillian-murphy-oppenheimer-oscars-baftas-best-actor/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Wong |first1=Brittany |title=Here's Why Introverts Have Made Cillian Murphy Their Patron Meme Saint |url=https://sg.news.yahoo.com/why-introverts-made-cillian-murphy-094525265.html? |website=Yahoo News|date=12 March 2024 }} In 2017, upon being asked his opinion on the "Disappointed Cillian Murphy" meme, he answered, "What's a meme?".{{cite web |last1=Arthur |first1=Kate |title=When Barbie Meets Oppenheimer: Margot Robbie and Cillian Murphy Discuss Their Blockbuster Hits in Epic 'Barbenheimer' Conversation |url=https://variety.com/2023/film/features/cillian-murphy-margot-robbie-barbenheimer-memes-box-office-success-1235820469/ |website=Variety |date=5 December 2023 |access-date=24 May 2024 |archive-date=1 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240701003136/https://variety.com/2023/film/features/cillian-murphy-margot-robbie-barbenheimer-memes-box-office-success-1235820469/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Ford |first1=Lucy |title=Cillian Murphy wants to nuke the internet |url=https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/cillian-murphy-meme-oppenheimer-press |website=GQ |date=13 July 2023 |access-date=24 May 2024 |archive-date=23 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523161126/https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/cillian-murphy-meme-oppenheimer-press |url-status=live }}
In 2015, Murphy was named one of GQ{{'}}s 50 best-dressed men,{{cite magazine |first=Robert |last=Johnson |title=50 Best Dressed Men |url=http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/gallery/best-dressed-men-2015 |magazine=GQ |date=5 January 2015 |access-date=7 February 2015 |archive-date=24 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170624002438/http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/gallery/best-dressed-men-2015 |url-status=dead }} and in 2024, he was announced as the new face of Italian luxury fashion company Versace.{{Cite web |last=Cartter |first=Eileen |date=13 March 2024 |title=Cillian Murphy Is the New Face of Versace |url=https://www.gq.com/story/cillian-murphy-versace-brand-ambassador-announcement |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240313143448/https://www.gq.com/story/cillian-murphy-versace-brand-ambassador-announcement |archive-date=13 March 2024 |access-date=13 March 2024 |website=GQ |language=en-US}} He is also known to be an unconventional sex symbol.{{Cite web |date=11 May 2023 |title=Cillian Murphy 'feels sad' that he can't be like Tommy Shelby when fans meet him |url=https://www.ladbible.com/entertainment/cillian-murphy-sad-tommy-shelby-fans-860643-20230511 |access-date=18 February 2025 |website=LADbible |language=en}}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQTLDjgyCgU |title=CILLIAN ARE YOU A SEX SYMBOL? |date=31 May 2022 |last=prada backpack |access-date=18 February 2025 |via=YouTube}}
Activism
Murphy participated in the 2007 Rock the Vote Ireland campaign, targeting young voters for the general election,{{cite news|author=Cashin, Declan|url=http://declancashin.com/2007/04/reluctant-hero/|title=Reluctant Hero |newspaper=Irish Independent |date=6 April 2007 |access-date=15 May 2012 |archive-date=9 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130309152749/http://declancashin.com/2007/04/reluctant-hero/}} and campaigning for the rights of the homeless with the organisation Focus Ireland.{{cite news|author=Cunningham, Grainne|title=Plea From Playboy Star Puts Problems of Young Homeless People Into the Spotlight|newspaper=Irish Independent|date=24 February 2004}} In 2011, he became a patron of the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre at the National University of Ireland Galway. He is closely associated with the work of Professor Pat Dolan, Director of UCFRC and UNESCO Chair in Children, Youth and Civic Engagement. In February 2012, he wrote a message of support to the former Vita Cortex workers involved in a sit-in at their plant, congratulating them for "highlighting [what] is hugely important to us all as a nation".{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/hollywood-star-cillian-murphy-joins-list-of-celebs-supporting-vita-cortex-workers-26824742.html|title=Hollywood star Cillian Murphy joins list of celebs supporting Vita Cortex workers|date=23 February 2012|access-date=23 February 2012|work=Irish Independent|archive-date=17 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017135005/https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/hollywood-star-cillian-murphy-joins-list-of-celebs-supporting-vita-cortex-workers-26824742.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/cillian-murphy-supports-vita-cortex-workers-184976.html|title=Cillian Murphy supports Vita Cortex workers|date=24 February 2012|access-date=24 February 2012|work=Irish Examiner|publisher=Thomas Crosbie Holdings|archive-date=26 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226002236/http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/cillian-murphy-supports-vita-cortex-workers-184976.html|url-status=live}} Murphy was a supporter of the 2018 Irish referendum to repeal the eighth amendment of the constitution that restricted access to abortions, appearing on The Blindboy Podcast to urge men to support women and vote in favour of the referendum.{{Cite web |last=Drohan |first=Freya |date=7 May 2018 |title=Together for Yes: Saoirse Ronan, Cillian Murphy support Ireland's abortion referendum |url=https://www.irishcentral.com/culture/entertainment/saoirse-ronan-cillian-murphy-abortion |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529082615/https://www.irishcentral.com/culture/entertainment/saoirse-ronan-cillian-murphy-abortion |archive-date=29 May 2023 |access-date=26 July 2023 |website=IrishCentral |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=McDonald |first=Henry |date=15 September 2015 |title=Irish stars call for abortion reform |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/15/irish-stars-call-for-abortion-reform |url-status=live |access-date=26 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605003000/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/15/irish-stars-call-for-abortion-reform |archive-date=5 June 2023 |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite web |last=Sheila |first=Langan |date=26 April 2018 |title=Cillian Murphy urges men to vote in Ireland's abortion referendum |url=https://www.irishcentral.com/news/cillian-murphy-abortion-referendum |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230718161126/https://www.irishcentral.com/news/cillian-murphy-abortion-referendum |archive-date=18 July 2023 |access-date=26 July 2023 |website=IrishCentral |language=en}}{{cite web |url=https://play.acast.com/s/blindboy/brollytonsils |title=Brolly Tonsils: Cillian Murphy Interview, Repeal the 8th |newspaper=The Blindboy Podcast. |date=2 May 2018 |access-date=21 November 2023 |archive-date=21 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231121113625/https://play.acast.com/s/blindboy/brollytonsils |url-status=live }}
Personal life
In 2004, Murphy married his longtime girlfriend Yvonne McGuinness, whom he met at one of his rock band's shows in 1996.{{cite news|author=McLean, Craig|title=A Close Shave|newspaper=Telegraph Magazine|date=24 December 2005}} They lived in Dublin until 2001 when they moved to London so his wife could attend the Royal College of Art. After 14 years, they moved back to Dublin in 2015. They have two sons, born in 2005 and 2007.{{cite news |title=Cillian Murphy: If you're an actor, it's essential to live like a normal person |newspaper=Irish Independent |date=24 September 2014 |url=http://www.independent.ie/style/celebrity/celebrity-features/cillian-murphy-if-youre-an-actor-its-essential-to-live-like-a-normal-person-30611547.html |access-date=18 June 2015 |archive-date=18 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150618183552/http://www.independent.ie/style/celebrity/celebrity-features/cillian-murphy-if-youre-an-actor-its-essential-to-live-like-a-normal-person-30611547.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/persevere-and-keep-having-a-laugh-actor-cillian-murphy-tells-youth-groups-in-galway-1.1676965 |title='Persevere...and keep having a laugh,' actor Cillian Murphy tells youth groups in Galway |newspaper=Irish Times |date=3 February 2014 |first=Lorna |last=Siggins |access-date=30 November 2016 |archive-date=20 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220120539/http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/persevere-and-keep-having-a-laugh-actor-cillian-murphy-tells-youth-groups-in-galway-1.1676965 |url-status=live }}
Murphy was raised Catholic. He stated that he had been verging on agnosticism until his role as a physicist and astronaut in the 2007 film Sunshine, at which point his views shifted towards atheism.{{cite news|author=Fulton, Rick|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/DANNY'S+NEW+GOLDEN+BOY%3B+Exclusive+the+BIG+razz+interview+Cillian...-a0161223207|title=Danny's New Golden Boy|newspaper=Daily Record|location=Scotland|date=30 March 2007|access-date=18 July 2007|archive-date=17 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017135004/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/DANNY%27S+NEW+GOLDEN+BOY%3B+Exclusive+the+BIG+razz+interview+Cillian...-a0161223207|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.gamesradar.com/killing-time-with-cillian-murphy/|title=Killing time with Cillian Murphy|date=20 July 2017|website=GamesRadar|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170720133443/https://www.gamesradar.com/killing-time-with-cillian-murphy/|archive-date=20 July 2017|url-status=dead}} In 2019, he said the Catholic faith still shaped his morality.{{cite web |url=https://www.gq.com/story/cillian-murphy-profile |title=How Cillian Murphy Keeps the Fame Wolves at the Door |work=GQ Style |last=Schube |first=Sam |date=2 October 2019 |access-date=29 September 2021 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191004010912/https://www.gq.com/story/cillian-murphy-profile |archive-date=4 October 2019 }}{{cite web |url=https://www.timeout.com/london/tv-reviews/cillian-murphy-interview-im-not-afraid-to-express-opinions |title=Cillian Murphy interview: 'I'm not afraid to express opinions' |work=TimeOut |date=4 September 2013 |access-date=29 September 2021 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130915112519/http://www.timeout.com:80/london/tv-reviews/cillian-murphy-interview-im-not-afraid-to-express-opinions |archive-date=15 September 2013 }}
He was a vegetarian for around 15 years, which he said happened because he was "worried about getting mad cow disease" rather than a moral decision.{{cite news|last1=O'Connor|first1=Roisin|title=Cillian Murphy gave up vegetarianism after 15 years for Peaky Blinders|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/cillian-murphy-vegetarian-peaky-blinders-season-four-release-date-adrien-brody-a7655286.html|work=Independent|date=29 March 2017|access-date=25 August 2017|archive-date=20 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180120172050/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/cillian-murphy-vegetarian-peaky-blinders-season-four-release-date-adrien-brody-a7655286.html|url-status=live}} He also had qualms about unhealthy agribusiness practices.{{cite news|author=Wallick, Lee|title=A, B, Cillian–Z|newspaper=Wonderland|date=April–May 2007}} He began eating meat again to bulk up for his role in Peaky Blinders. In a 2022 interview, he said he had returned to vegetarianism.{{cite news |first=Ed |last=Cumming |work=The Observer |title='It's the end of a big adventure': Cillian Murphy |publisher=The Guardian |date=20 February 2022 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/feb/20/its-the-end-of-a-big-adventure-cillian-murphy-bids-farewell-to-peaky-blinders |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=20 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220220080953/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/feb/20/its-the-end-of-a-big-adventure-cillian-murphy-bids-farewell-to-peaky-blinders |url-status=live }}
Acting credits and awards
{{Main|Cillian Murphy on stage and screen|List of awards and nominations received by Cillian Murphy}}
Murphy's most commercially successful films have been his many collaborations with Nolan, including Oppenheimer, Inception, Batman Begins, and Dunkirk.{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/cillian_murphy|title=Cllian Murphy|website=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=23 February 2024|archive-date=15 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240115074516/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/cillian_murphy|url-status=live}} Following the success of Oppenheimer and the Barbenheimer phenomenon, Murphy was named in Variety{{'s}} list of the most influential figures of 2023 in the entertainment and media industry.{{cite magazine|url=https://variety.com/exec/cillian-murphy/|title=Cillian Murphy|magazine=Variety|access-date=23 February 2024|archive-date=23 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240223163013/https://variety.com/exec/cillian-murphy/|url-status=live}} Murphy's works also include other critically acclaimed films, such as A Quiet Place II and The Wind that Shakes the Barley. He has received several accolades over the course of his career, including four Irish Film & Television Awards,{{Cite web|title=IFTA {{!}} Irish Film & Television Academy {{!}} Irish Film & Television Awards|url=https://www.ifta.ie/awards/iftawinners2017.php|access-date=6 October 2020|website=www.ifta.ie|archive-date=9 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009085028/https://www.ifta.ie/awards/iftawinners2017.php|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://www.breakingnews.ie/showbiz/amy-huberman-and-mattress-mick-were-among-the-winners-at-tonights-iftas-785060.html |title=Amy Huberman and Mattress Mick were among the winners at tonight's IFTAs |date=8 April 2017 |work=Breakingnews.ie |accessdate=9 April 2017 |archive-date=10 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410025420/http://www.breakingnews.ie/showbiz/amy-huberman-and-mattress-mick-were-among-the-winners-at-tonights-iftas-785060.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=20 April 2024 |title=Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy adds Ifta to his trophy cabinet |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1vwrw2qw2ko |access-date=23 April 2024 |website=BBC News |language=en-gb |archive-date=22 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240422223435/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1vwrw2qw2ko |url-status=live }} a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and an Academy Award.
References
{{reflist}}
Bibliography
{{refbegin|colwidth=30em}}
- {{cite book|last=Dendle|first=Peter|title=The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia: 2000–2010|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nMFGJbVpumQC&pg=PA200|date=September 2012|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-6163-9|access-date=27 February 2016|archive-date=28 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628232408/http://books.google.com/books?id=nMFGJbVpumQC&pg=PA200|url-status=live}}
- {{cite book|last=Derry|first=Charles|title=Dark Dreams 2.0: A Psychological History of the Modern Horror Film from the 1950s to the 21st Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=loUaJC9VBMUC&pg=PA263|date=29 October 2009|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-5695-6|access-date=27 February 2016|archive-date=28 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628232611/http://books.google.com/books?id=loUaJC9VBMUC&pg=PA263|url-status=live}}
- {{cite book|last=Ebert|first=Roger|title=Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2007|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SbAEim_dVQkC&pg=PA76|date=5 February 2013|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|isbn=978-0-7407-9219-9|access-date=27 February 2016|archive-date=28 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628232405/http://books.google.com/books?id=SbAEim_dVQkC&pg=PA76|url-status=live}}
- Johnson, David Kyle (31 October 2011). [https://archive.org/details/inceptionphiloso00john Inception and Philosophy: Because It's Never Just a Dream]. John Wiley & Sons. p. 360. {{isbn|978-1-118-16891-2}}
- {{cite book|last=Raphael|first=Amy|title=Danny Boyle|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mbqEJ-RtJ54C&pg=PT124|date=6 January 2011|publisher=Faber & Faber|isbn=978-0-571-25537-5|access-date=27 February 2016|archive-date=28 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628233716/http://books.google.com/books?id=mbqEJ-RtJ54C&pg=PT124|url-status=live}}
{{refend}}
External links
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{{wikiquote}}
- {{IMDb name|0614165}}
{{navboxes
|title = Awards for Cillian Murphy
|list =
{{Academy Award Best Actor}}
{{AACTA International Award for Best Actor}}
{{BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role}}
{{Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor}}
{{DramaDesk One-PersonShow 2001–2025}}
{{Golden Globe Award Best Actor Motion Picture Drama}}
{{IFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role – Film}}
{{NTA Outstanding Drama Performance}}
{{Satellite Award Best Actor Motion Picture}}
{{ScreenActorsGuildAward MaleLeadMotionPicture}}
{{St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor}}
{{Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor}}
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Category:People educated at Presentation Brothers College, Cork