Cillian Murphy is a man with bottomless eyes and an actor with a thousand faces. He played villains and heroes, conquered space and tried to survive in the post-apocalypse, was Batman’s rival and exposed a psychic charlatan. But no matter what role he plays, it is impossible to tear yourself away from him. Below we have selected the 10 best films with Cillian Murphy, which reveal his talent.
Oppenheimer (2023)
The pinnacle of Murphy’s acting skills and his personal triumph. Even before the release of the film, the actor admitted that Christopher Nolan is a director with whom he is ready to collaborate until the end of his days, but for whom he has never been able to play the main role. When the British director conceived his large-scale epic about the “father of the atomic bomb” Robert Oppenheimer, he immediately saw only Murphy in the leading role.
His Oppenheimer is a grandiose scientist or, as he called himself, “the destroyer of worlds,” who is first eager to make a grand discovery, and then stunned in horror by its monstrous consequences. The role of Oppenheimer is perhaps the most difficult in Murphy’s career, but the actor admits that he loves to challenge himself. There is hope that his professional passion and courage will finally pay off.
Peaky Blinders (2013–2022)
Ten years after the release of the series, we can confidently say that the role of Thomas Shelby is iconic not only in the filmography of Murphy himself, but also in the annals of 21st century television. An Irish gangster family from Birmingham terrified their enemies and charmed their friends. It’s hard to believe, but Murphy almost missed out on this project.
Peaky Blinders showrunner Steven Knight initially considered Jason Statham for the role of Shelby family patriarch. He explained his choice with his personal vision of the main character – a threateningly dangerous alpha male, whom everyone equally fears and respects.
More slender than Statham, Murphy, according to Knight, was not well suited for this role. But Killian, just like his future hero, managed to achieve his goal. “Don’t forget that I’m an actor and I can play anyone,” Murphy said at a meeting with Knight, and convinced the latter. Peaky Blinders has become an important part of popular culture: from the sophisticated style of the main characters and their hairstyles, which dozens of barbers have copied, to the quality of the dramatic material. It turned out that it was in the role of a traumatized First World War veteran with a wolfish grip that Murphy would reveal himself best.
28 Days Later… (2002)
The really big role of Murphy, which he received after his debut film work in the film “Disco Pigs,” where Danny Boyle was able to see his potential. The British director made a tense and compelling story about the world of today, in which there is nothing alive left. Boyle, in his own way, anticipated both the global pandemic and the future fashion for post-apocalyptic cinema – a close and understandable plot for a person of the new millennium.
Murphy’s hero is an ordinary resident of the metropolis, courier Jim, who wakes up in the hospital after 28 days of coma. Going out onto the streets of deserted London, the hero realizes that the irreversible has happened. Having met a couple of heroes who miraculously survived, the confused Jim goes with them on a dangerous journey in a new world of zombies. And although the film officially has a happy ending with the rescue of the trio, Danny Boyle decided to play it safe and made three more alternative endings. What’s important is that Murphy’s character died in all of them.
The actor himself admits that the role in “28 Days Later” was a turning point for him and largely determined the course of his future career.
The Wind that Shakes the Barley (2006)
After success among the mass audience, the time came for recognition among professional critics. And although Murphy has always been a favorite of film connoisseurs, it was Ken Loach’s “The Wind That Shakes the Heather” that cemented his status as an actor who can master any characters and plots. Murphy had to go through about five stages of casting to get the coveted role. The film is inspired by the events of the Irish War of Independence, and its title refers to poet Robert Joyce’s ballad “The Wind That Shakes the Barley” about the Irish Rebellion of 1798.
The plot centers on two O’Donovan brothers – Damien (Cillian Murphy) and Teddy (Padrick Delaney) – whose personal destinies reflect the history of an entire state. Murphy’s hero is a successful doctor who quit his medical practice to protect his native country. Together with his brother, he joins the national liberation movement. But the heroes’ goal is only half achieved: Ireland becomes a dominion, remaining part of the British Empire. The film received the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and became one of the main premieres of 2006.
Breakfast on Pluto (2005)
A year before his triumph in Cannes, Murphy managed to create a fuss in the out-of-competition program of the Berlinale, where the premiere of “Breakfast on Pluto” took place. The film by Neil Jordan is an adaptation of the book of the same name by Patrick McCabe.
Murphy himself names the tape among his loved ones and admits that playing Patrick (Patricia) Kitten Braden was pure acting pleasure. The film, in the format of 36 book chapters, tells the story of the life of Patrick, a foundling without a clan or family, who is desperately trying to find his mother. Raised by a priest, Patrick is as far from church asceticism and religious norms as possible.
On the contrary, he resists external boundaries and prohibitions with all his might. On his journey, the hero meets equally outlandish characters, comprehends the world outside his native church, and experiences a difficult internal transformation. Murphy says that he personally asked for the film as a fan of the novel. The actor, wearing the full makeup of his on-screen alter ego Patricia, recorded self-tests that secured him the role.
Inception (2010)
Murphy’s hero, Robert Fisher, is the heir to a large business empire. An adult man turns out to be a traumatized child, painfully experiencing a difficult relationship with his father. DiCaprio’s hero and his team penetrate the mind of Fisher Jr. to obtain valuable information about the businessman’s company. It is curious that it is Murphy’s character, along with the heroes of DiCaprio and Cotillard, who is responsible for the sensual component of the puzzle film. The scene in which his character finally achieves the desired catharsis is executed by Murphy simply brilliantly.
A Quiet Place Part II (2020)
Another apocalyptic story in Murphy’s film career. The sequel to the successful 2018 film is divided into two parts: it reveals the backstory of the aliens’ arrival and tells how the life of the Abbott family develops after the death of their head, John Krasinski, in the first part. Murphy’s character is a grieving widower and the Abbotts’ neighbor in the underground shelter. Together they face survival in a hopeless world.
What is new to them is the existence of a remote island inhabited by a group of surviving people. Although the film’s main character remains Emily Blunt, Murphy creates a moving portrait of a person who has lost faith in everything, but discovers that she still has a purpose in life. After A Quiet Place 2, Murphy and Blunt collaborate again in Oppenheimer, where they play husband and wife Robert and Katherine Oppenheimer.
Red Eye (2005)
2005 was marked for Murphy with a number of successful works. Along with “Breakfast on Pluto” and “Batman Begins,” the thriller “Night Flight” appeared on screens. Murphy played the role of a terrorist who takes a passenger hostage on a flight from Dallas to Miami and forces her to become an unofficial accomplice in the terrorist attack. Murphy’s character, under the direction of veteran horror master Wes Craven, takes much from the arsenal of typical villains. He looks over the top in some moments and outright overacts in others. Still, watching Murphy go from lovable stranger to evil incarnate is a real treat.
The Edge of Love (2008)
Historical drama about a love square. The plot centers on Vera (Keira Knightley), Caitlin (Sienna Miller), Dylan (Matthew Rhys, future star of The Americans) and William (Cillian Murphy). The latter returns from the war as a hero broken from within. The characters fall in love, are jealous of each other, get married and almost become accomplices in tragedy. Just as he prepares for the upcoming Peaky Blinders, Murphy creates the on-screen image of a war veteran who speaks with eyes that reflect the joy and horror of existence.
Broken (2012)
Another film in which Murphy demonstrates his incredible acting talent, even in a supporting role. “Broken” can be seen as a tribute of sorts to Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird.” The main character of the story is teenager Skunk, who is diagnosed with diabetes. Her father, widower Archie (Tim Roth), takes care of her. The characters lead quiet lives with barely noticeable visitors: housekeeper Keisha (Bosnian actress Zana Marjanovic) and her boyfriend Mike, played by Murphy.
This is a story about Skunk coming of age and facing the horrors of the adult world. Murphy may not have much screen time, but every appearance he makes becomes a real acting highlight.