An Appreciation by Paddy McCarthy
Actor/singer Cillian Murphy seems to go from strength to strength with his acting and other activities. Currently, the 45-year-old appears as Emmett in the sci-fi horror shocker A Quiet Place Part II (see related interview in this IEUSA edition). Born in Cork City, Ireland on May 25th, 1976, he’s the oldest child of Brendan Murphy — who worked for the Irish the Department of Education and Skills. His mother taught French while his grandfather, aunts, and uncles were also teachers. Raised in Ballintemple, alongside younger brother Páidi and two younger sisters, Sile and Orla, this Corkman attended the Catholic secondary school Presentation Brothers College, where he did well academically but often got into trouble, sometimes being suspended. Murphy decided in his fourth year that misbehaving was not worth the hassle.
The 10-year-old started writing and performing songs, not being 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. Novelist William Wall, who was his English teacher, encouraged him to pursue acting but he was set on becoming a rock star.
In his late teens and early 20s, he sang and played the piano in several bands alongside his brother, and the Beatles-obsessed duo named their most successful band The Sons of Mr. Greengenes, which they adopted from the Frank Zappa song of the same name. He later said “The band specialized in wacky lyrics and endless guitar solos.”
Having started his performing career as the lead singer, pianist, and songwriter of rock bands, Murphy turned down a record deal in the late ’90s and began acting on stage, in shorts and independent films.The duo was offered a five-album deal by Acid Jazz Records, which they rejected because Páidi was still in school and they didn’t agree with the small amount of money offered because the label wanted the rights to Murphy’s compositions. Murphy later confessed, “I’m very glad in retrospect that we didn’t sign because you signed away your life to a label and the whole of your music [in those days.”
First educated at Presentation Brothers College, Cork, Murphy began studying law at University College Cork (UCC) in 1996, but failed his first-year exams because, “I had no ambitions to do it.” Not only was Murphy busy with his band, but he knew within days after starting at UCC that it wasn’t for him and dropped out after about a year. After seeing Corcadorca’s stage production of A Clockwork Orange (directed by Kiernan) acting garnered his interest. 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.
Murphy also pursued his interest in music, playing guitar in various bands at the time. Upon leaving University, Murphy joined Cork’s Corcadorca Theater Company, and played the lead role in Enda Walsh‘s Disco Pigs — among other plays — which is one of the weirdest musically oriented productions ever. A film adaptation of Disco Pigs released in 2001. However, his big film break came when he was cast as Jim in Danny Boyle‘s zombie plague tale, 28 Days Later which was released in 2002 — he later starred in Boyle’s sci-fi thriller Sunshine (2007). It became a surprise international hi and his performance earned him nominations for Best Newcomer at the Empire Awards and Breakthrough Male Performance at the MTV Movie Awards.
These achievements were followed by his playing John in the dark comedy Intermission (2003), Jackson Rippner in the action thriller Red Eye (2005), and Patrick “Kitten” Braden in the comedy-drama Breakfast on Pluto (2005). For this performance as a trans-woman, he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy and won an Irish Film and Television Award for Best Actor.
Also known for his collaborations with director Christopher Nolan, Murphy played the Scarecrow in The Dark Knight trilogy of superhero films (2005–2012) and appeared in both the weird, dreamy Inception (2010) and the WW2 drama Dunkirk (2017). Other films in which he has appeared include the war drama The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006), the sci-fi action thriller In Time (2011), Jozef Gabčík in the war drama Anthropoid (2016).
Since 2013, he has starred as Tommy Shelby in the BBC crime drama series Peaky Blinders, for which he won the Irish Film and 
Television Award for Best Actor in 2017 and 2018. In 2011, Murphy won the Irish Times Theatre Award for Best Actor and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance for the one-man play Misterman. In 2020, he was ranked No. 12 on The Irish Times’ list of greatest Irish film actors.
Murphy participated in the 2007 Rock the Vote Ireland campaign, targeting young voters for the general election, and campaigning for the rights of the homeless with the organization Focus Ireland. 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.” In 2015, he was named one of GQ‘s 50 best dressed men.
Music is still an important part of Murphy’s life. In 2004, he said, “The only extravagant thing about my lifestyle is my stereo system, buying music and going to gigs. He no longer plays in a rock band, but regularly plays music with friends and on his own, and still writes songs. Murphy does not plan to start another band however, and has said, “Even if I was good, the very notion of being an actor with a rock band on the side would mean I’d never be taken seriously.”
In 2005, he named fellow Irish actors Colin Farrell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and Liam Neeson as friends, calling Neeson his “surrogate movie dad.” However, his closest friendships are those he made before becoming known. He is married to Irish visual artist Yvonne McGuinness, with whom he has two sons and resides in Dublin.
As he is whooshing with talent, you now can see why he chose to become an actor. You can see him now in A Quiet Place Part II; I am sure you will be hearing a lot more about him in the future and he can still perform a song or two. Look out for a demonstration of that talent in the next season of Peaky Blinders, coming soon.