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Cillian Murphy: the meteoric rise of the actor starring in Small Things Like These
Irish actor Cillian Murphy continues to command attention. After playing Thomas Shelby in the series Peaky Blinders and winning the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in Oppenheimer, he returns this year as a father in Small Things Like These by Tim Mielants, hitting theaters on April 30. A look back at an exemplary journey.
Small Things Like These, the new Cillian Murphy film, in theaters April 30
Premiered at the 2024 Berlinale, Small Things Like These is adapted from the 2020 novel of the same name by Claire Keegan. The Irish author set her story in her native country in 1985. Bill Furlong, a modest coal merchant, tries to keep his business afloat and provide for his family. One day, during a delivery to the town’s convent, he makes a shocking discovery. This long-buried secret forces him to confront his past and the complicit silence of a community living in fear…
Known for his work on series like Peaky Blinders and The Terror, Belgian filmmaker Tim Mielants brings the novel to the screen, casting Cillian Murphy as the father grappling with a moral dilemma. Alongside him, Emily Watson and Clare Dunne deliver standout performances as complex figures within the convent.
Early reviews praise Murphy’s performance in this poignant drama that delicately explores themes of guilt, silence, and redemption. Small Things Like These will be released in theaters on April 30, 2025.
The trailer for Small Things Like These (2025).
An oscar for the hero of Oppenheimer
At 48, Cillian Murphy is the man of the hour in cinema. With a hypnotic aura and piercing gaze, his stunning range has made him a must-watch actor, though he long remained outside leading roles.
In 2024, he reached a milestone by winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for his riveting performance in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer at the 96th Oscars held on March 10 2024. A complex and ambiguous role that captivated audiences and critics alike, he portrayed Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb.
Cillian Murphy wasn’t always headed for the big screen
Originally, Murphy dreamt of being a musician. A teenage rock enthusiast, he shared this passion with his brother. Eventually, he turned to theater, gaining attention through his roles in Neil LaBute’s The Shape Of Things and the gritty drama Disco Pigs.
Director Danny Boyle was drawn to Murphy’s innocent, almost ethereal looks and cast him in the lead role of the post-apocalyptic thriller 28 Days Later (2002). Playing Jim, a bike courier waking from a coma to a deserted London, Murphy impressed critics. The film was deliberately cast with little-known actors and “blended war film, 70s zombie cinema, and British sci-fi” , according to screenwriter Alex Garland.
In 2003, Murphy starred alongside friend Colin Farrell in Intermission, which won four IFTA Awards (Ireland’s equivalent of the César). He also transformed himself under Neil Jordan’s lens in Breakfast on Pluto, adapted from Pat McCabe’s novel.
In 2006, British filmmaker Ken Loach spotlighted Murphy in The Wind That Shakes the Barley, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes. Murphy, whose Irish roots he shares with his wife Yvonne McGuinness (they’ve been married 20 years), portrayed a doctor who joins his brother in the fight for Irish independence.
Christopher Nolan’s favorite actor
Murphy’s career took a pivotal turn under Christopher Nolan’s direction.
Although initially considered for the role of Batman, Nolan instead cast Christian Bale, but gave Murphy the chilling role of Scarecrow, a nightmare-inducing scientist. He appeared in Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), and Nolan’s dreamscape thriller Inception (2010).
Like fellow performer Tom Hardy, Murphy became a Nolan favorite. He starred in Dunkirk (2017) as a shell-shocked soldier and later in Oppenheimer (2023), which earned him his first Oscar.
More intimate films
Beyond Nolan and Luc Besson’s blockbusters, Murphy has also starred in more intimate works focused on human relationships.
In Sally Potter’s dark comedy The Party (2017), he played a cocaine-addicted banker who brings a gun to a dinner party.
In The Delinquent Season (2018), opposite Andrew Scott, he explored the unraveling of two couples in a quieter, more understated role.
The cult series Peaky Blinders
From 2013 to 2022, Murphy mesmerized audiences as Thomas Shelby, the charismatic gangster leader of a 1920s Birmingham crime family in Peaky Blinders. The Peaky Blinders dealt in bribery, rigged horse racing, and wore razor blades sewn into their caps. As stylish as they were ruthless, they were an unforgettable presence.
Murphy trained extensively to embody Shelby, once saying: “I’m not a physically imposing person. I have to eat a lot of protein, lift a lot of weights, and do all those things. It takes time, which I hate.”
But the effort paid off. For many critics and fans alike, Thomas Shelby remains Murphy’s most iconic role as a showcase of his range and depth.
Small Things like these in theaters April 30.
