Biography:

It’s impossible to take your eyes off the movie characters played by Cillian Murphy. The Irishman with bottomless blue eyes is interested in images that evoke a storm of feelings. Most often he has to play negative personalities or those with a difficult fate, but always – natures that are both holistic and multifaceted. And this does not mean that it is easy for directors who are selecting a performer to play the role of another marginal figure to persuade Cillian – the celebrity is not chasing fashionable blockbusters.

Childhood and youth:

Cillian was born on May 25, 1976 in County Cork, Ireland. At first, the family, in which, in addition to him, three younger children grew up – brother of actor Paidy and sisters Cyle and Orla, lived in Douglas, but then moved to the suburb of Ballintemple. The adults worked in the field of education: father as an inspector in the department, mother as a French teacher. Cillian’s grandfather and aunts and uncles also taught. In addition, the Murphys had a musical education, so Cillian, who played the guitar well, dreamed of becoming a rock star since childhood.

His passion for music almost led the teenager to sign a serious contract with a famous music label. At the last moment the deal was canceled. It was probably the hand of fate, because very soon Murphy realized what he really wanted to connect his future life with. At the age of 16, the young man accidentally found himself at a master class in dramatic art. As Cillian later admitted, it was as if he felt an epiphany.

However, after graduating from school, the guy, at the insistence of his parents, did not enter a theater university, but the Faculty of Law at the University of Cork, but never received a higher education. The young man did not feel any desire to be a lawyer. Studying legal disciplines seemed boring and uninteresting.

But Murphy enjoyed visiting the theater studio at the university and participating in productions, each time demonstrating increasing acting skills. One day, a young actor with an average height (175 cm) but an expressive appearance was noticed by the directors of the play “Disco Pigs” and was invited to play the main role. From that moment Cillian’s creative biography began.

Theater:

A successful debut in the acclaimed play “Disco Pigs,” which was shown at the Dublin Festival, inspired 20-year-old Murphy so much that the young man finally decided to focus on his acting career. In his youth, Cillian regularly performed on the theater stage, but now in Dublin, and during the breaks he managed to act in films. Later, cinema gradually began to dominate the celebrity’s career.

In 2003, the Irishman again appeared on the stage, which in his youth he perceived as a hobby. The actor played Konstantin from Chekhov’s The Seagull. The play was directed by Peter Stein. The director initiated the fact that the actors involved in the play went to Russia, where, to better get into character, they visited the estate of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov in Melikhovo. The production was a great success and was shown at the prestigious Edinburgh Festival in 2003. Later, Murphy occasionally delighted fans with new theatrical roles.

Movies:

Cillian’s debut on the screen was the film “Sunburn”, released in 1999. The role of a playmaker who ran away from his pregnant girlfriend to America became a real breakthrough for Murphy. From that moment on, the actor appeared on the set more and more often.

And in 2001, Cillian first tried his hand as a screenwriter – he wrote the script for the comedy “Observers” and played the main role in it. The film was presented at the Edinburgh Festival and received a lot of warm reviews. In the same year, director Kristen Sheridan invited Murphy to participate in the film adaptation of the already familiar play “Disco Pigs.” The actor not only agreed, but also wrote the soundtrack for this film.

A dark comedy called The Break has broken all previous box office records in Ireland. The plot centers on Colin Farrell’s character , a professional robber planning a raid on a bank. Cillian is assigned the role of an accomplice. The director of the project is John Crowley, the same one who directed the drama “Brooklyn”, nominated for an Oscar in 3 nominations, with Saoirse Ronan and Domhnall Gleeson .

With Domhnall’s father, Emmy winner and Golden Globe nominee Brendan Gleeson , the actor worked on the post-apocalyptic thriller 28 Days Later . Danny Boyle’s film, which was released on big screens, grossed over $80 million at the box office, and also became a stepping stone for the artist’s professional growth: after that, Cillian was invited to Hollywood.

Murphy was soon seen in a mini-series called The Roads We Take. It was a career boost, because the film was shown on the BBC channel. To play the role of a romantic aristocrat, Irishman Murphy had to work a lot on his English accent. The series was a huge success, and the actor was recognized far beyond the borders of his native Ireland.

In the famous film Cold Mountain, Cillian appeared cameoically – the main roles belonged to Nicole Kidman , Jude Law and Renee Zellweger . Fans of the Irishman on social networks subsequently expressed regret that their favorite had so little screen time in the film, nominated for an Oscar in 7 nominations and a BAFTA in 13.

Soon, a significant event occurred in the artist’s creative biography – meeting Christopher Nolan . Murphy arrived to audition for the new superhero action film with neo-noir elements , Batman. Start” . The Irishman auditioned for the role of the main character, but the artist’s texture and appearance did not meet the requirements. But Nolan was so impressed by Cillian that he definitely wanted to cast him in the film – they wrote the role of Dr. Jonathan Crane with his sinister alter ego Scarecrow for the actor.

In order not to perpetuate the audience’s perception of him as an actor playing anti-heroes, Murphy decided to star in the dramatic film Breakfast on Pluto , in which fans saw him in the image of transvestite Patrick Braden. The antihero label was over. Moreover, the role brought him a new dose of fame: Murphy was nominated for a Golden Globe and was awarded an Irish Television Academy prize.

Critics consider this work to be the best in Cillian’s acting career, as well as his performance in the film The Wind That Shakes the Heather . This is a historical drama that tells the story of the Irish struggle for independence. It is noteworthy that the filming took place in Cillian Murphy’s native county of Cork.

2007 turned out to be rich in star roles for the artist. This was the year the science-fiction thriller Inferno was released , where Murphy appeared as a scientist saving the planet from freezing. In preparation for this work, the actor consulted for a long time with physicists from the Geneva laboratory. Mark Strong , Chris Evans and others played members of the crew of a spaceship trying to resuscitate the Sun through a nuclear explosion. After the release of the film, the artist admitted in an interview that he became an atheist, although he was raised in the Catholic faith from childhood.

In the same year, the melodrama “Forbidden Love”, based on real events, was released. The film was about the difficult relationship between the famous Welsh poet Dylan Thomas and his wife with another married couple. Here, Sienna Miller , Matthew Rhys and Keira Knightley starred alongside Cillian . The latter’s mother, Sherman McDonald, wrote the script for this project. The film was a great success with viewers and critics.

The actor’s collaboration with Nolan also continued – in 2008, Christopher again invited Murphy to the film about the adventures of Batman “The Dark Knight” , and 4 years later the Irishman starred in the continuation of the franchise, in the series “The Dark Knight. Revival of a legend” . Two years later, the artist’s filmography was replenished with another Nolan project – the thriller “Inception” with Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role.

Despite the fact that the plot of the film was reminiscent of traditional heist films, a multi-level plot composition related to the theme of the characters falling into sleep was invented for the film. Murphy plays the head of a powerful financial corporation, Robert Fisher, who becomes the target of industrial spy Cobb. The artist’s performance, as well as the entire project as a whole, was highly praised by film critics.

In the science-fiction action film “Time,” Cillian portrayed a negative character—time guard Raymond Leon, who serves the government of a civilization where time is considered the only currency. The film also stars Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seifield .

The drama “Broken,” according to Murphy, who played the role of teacher, is primarily a story about the problem of fathers and sons, about the fact that there is no ideal family, and a person, in fact, does not grow up.

“My parents are teachers, so it’s great that I get to play a character that I understand so well – I know what it’s like. On the one hand, I remember very well what it is to be a student, on the other, what teachers are like.”

In July 2017, the military drama Dunkirk premiered, starring Tom Hardy , where Cillian played the cameo role of a soldier. The film is dedicated to the military operation of the same name to evacuate soldiers caught in the blockade, carried out by the anti-Hitler coalition at the very beginning of World War II.

In Luc Besson’s thriller “Anna”, the actor was given one of the main roles – an intelligence officer. The central character of the spy film is a fragile girl who actually turns out to be a hired killer, acts alone and skillfully deals with a dozen heavily armed men. Along with Hollywood stars, Russian actors also appeared in the project, in particular Alexander Petrov . The film was criticized, including for numerous factual and chronological errors in its depiction of Russian reality in the 90s.

In 2021, the second part of the post-apocalyptic film “A Quiet Place” was released , where the public saw their favorite characters performed by Emily Blunt and John Krasinski , who wrote and directed the film. Cillian brought to life a new character on the screen, who, together with the main characters, is trying to survive in extreme conditions.

Peaky Blinders:

In 2013, director Steven Knight brought the series Peaky Blinders to the attention of the public , which created a real sensation. The project is based on real events – the history of the criminal group of the Shelby family, which operated in Birmingham at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The director himself wrote the script for the drama, including facts told by his father – as a child, he, on behalf of his parent, brought messages to the leaders of the Birmingham gang.

cillian got the main role in the project – the Irishman embodied the image of the gang leader Thomas Shelby on the screen. Especially for the role, Murphy communicated with the gypsies of Birmingham, since in the story his character has gypsy roots. The character had few points of contact with the actor – the cruelty and motivation of Shelby’s actions turned out to be alien to the performer.

In addition, the hero constantly appeared in the frame, smoking. On the contrary, Cillian himself, known for his commitment to a healthy lifestyle, opposed smoking. Cigarettes were made especially for the artist, using herbal infusions instead of tobacco. But this replacement turned out to be difficult for the celebrity – Murphy was irritated by the smoky veil that accompanied him on the set of each episode. At the Irishman’s request, it was calculated that on average he “smoke” about 3 thousand duplicates per season.

Cillian was also annoyed by his character’s hairstyle, made in the fashion of the 20s of the last century. She gained enormous popularity among fans of the series, but the artist himself admitted more than once in interviews that he did not understand why viewers liked her so much – to such an extent that many people cut their hair the same way. In general, the image of the gang leader performed by the Irishman turned out to be convincing and remained in the center of attention of the audience throughout all 6 seasons. At the BAFTA TV Awards 2018, the National Film Academy presented the Peaky Blinders project with an award in the Best Drama Series category.

Personal life:

Now Cillian Murphy’s personal life is his wife and two children. The artist dated his wife Yvonne McGuinness for 8 years. In 2004 they got married. Yvonne is a creative person who does video art. Malachi’s first son was born in 2005, and Carrick a year later. In 2015, the family changed their house near London’s Royal Park to a penthouse in Dublin. The city has a small population compared to the British capital, and “it’s better for your head to have fewer people around.” Despite the fact that the artist rarely appears with his wife on the red carpet, photos of the couple are periodically posted on the Internet.

Lifestyle:

In his free time, the actor likes to run with his dog along the sea coast, play the ukulele and sing. Cillian leads a closed life, trying, by his own admission, to avoid the fate of Brad Pitt, whose every step is known to the public.

Music remains one of the celebrity’s main hobbies. The Irishman stopped playing in a rock band, but continued to write songs and attend concerts. In addition, Murphy hosted a number of programs on BBC Radio 6 Music in which he shared his opinions on music and discussed the work of his favorite bands.

Cillian does not have personal accounts on Instagram (the social network is banned in the Russian Federation; it belongs to the Meta corporation, which is recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation) and other social networks. On forums dedicated to the actor’s work, fans argue over whether the idol had plastic surgery or not. The artist himself does not comment on rumors of this kind, but film fans, after studying Murphy’s photos, noticed that his nose became narrower over time and his lips became fuller.

Cillian Murphy now:

In 2022, the actor did not stop working in films. To the delight of fans, it became known that the collaboration between Murphy and Nolan continued. The artist appeared in the director’s new project “ Oppenheimer ,” dedicated to the creator of the atomic bomb, nuclear physicist Julius Robert Oppenheimer. Along with Cillian, other Hollywood stars were involved on the set: Emily Blunt, with whom the artist previously starred in A Quiet Place 2, Matt Damon , Robert Downey Jr. and others.

The premiere of the film took place in the summer of 2023. It received rave reviews from both critics and audiences, and grossed more than $900 billion at the box office.

In January 2024, Cillian received a Golden Globe award in the Best Actor category for his role in Oppenheimer. He was also nominated for an Oscar in the same category. The artist also took this treasured figurine.

A month later, Murphy’s next project became known. He got the main role in the film “Steve,” which he also decided to produce. The film was positioned as an adaptation of Max Porter’s novel Shy about the life of a correctional school director.

Filmography:

• 1999 — “Sunburn”
• 2001 — “On the Edge”
• 2002 — “28 days later”
• 2003 — “Girl with a Pearl Earring”
• 2005 – “Batman. Start”
• 2005 — “Breakfast on Pluto”
• 2010 — “Peacock”
• 2010 — “The Beginning”
• 2011 — “Time”
• 2013-2019 — Peaky Blinders
• 2014 — “Excellence”
• 2016 — “Anthropoid”
• 2016 — “Shootout”
• 2017 — “Dunkirk”
• 2019 — “Anna”
• 2020 — “A Quiet Place 2”
• 2023 — “ Oppenheimer ”

Interesting Facts:

1. In an interview, Murphy admitted that he remained a vegetarian for 15 years, but this choice did not have a moral aspect, but only turned out to be a consequence of the actor’s fear of contracting mad cow disease. In addition, Cillian said that he does not trust the “unhealthy” methods practiced by agribusiness. The Irishman started eating meat on the set of Peaky Blinders to gain weight.
2. Being a private person, the artist nevertheless maintains connections with colleagues in the creative workshop, also immigrants from Ireland: Colin Farrell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Liam Neeson . In addition, Murphy maintained friendly relations with those with whom he was friends even before fame.