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How did Cillian Murphy become a major actor?
Cillian Murphy is far from being done making headlines. After embodying Thomas Shelby in the series Peaky Blinders and winning the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in Oppenheimer, the Irish actor was back as a tormented schoolteacher in Steve. He is now starring in Small Things like These, a film adaptation of Claire Keegan’s novel, now available on Canal+. Throwback to his brillant career.
Published on 3 October 2025. Updated on 4 December 2025.
An oscar for the protagonist of Oppenheimer
At 49, 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.
Last year, 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, Cillian Murphy dreamt of being a musician. As a teenager, he was a rock enthusiast and shared his 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, Cillian Murphy starred alongside his friend Colin Farrell in Intermission, which won four IFTA Awards, the Irish equivalent of the Academy Awards. He also transformed himself through the lens of Neil Jordan in Breakfast On Pluto, adapted from a novel by Pat McCabe.
In 2006, British filmmaker Ken Loach put Cillian Murphy in the spotlight in the film The Wind That Shakes the Barley, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes. The actor, who shares the same Irish roots as his wife Yvonne McGuinness – they’ve been married for 20 years – portrayed a doctor who joins his brother on the battlefield to fight for the independence of Ireland.
Christopher Nolan’s favorite actor
Murphy’s career took a pivotal turn under Christopher Nolan’s direction. Originally considered for the role of Gotham City’s Dark Knight, Nolan ultimately opted for the enigmatic psyche of “machinist” Christian Bale.
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, Cillian Murphy became one of Christopher Nolan’s favorite actor. He plays in the feature Dunkirk (2017) as a soldier terrorised by the war he participates in. Moreover, he later starred in Oppenheimer (2023), which earned him his first Oscar for Best Actor.
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, Cillian Murphy mesmerised audiences as Thomas Shelby, the charismatic gangster leader of a 1920s Birmingham crime family in the cult series Peaky Blinders. The Peaky Blinders are involved in corruption, rigged horse racing, and wore razor blades sewn into their caps for their own protection. Stylish and ruthless, they were all the more unpredictable.
In order to embody Thomas Shelby, the actor trained extensively. “I’m not a physically imposing person. I had to eat a lot of protein, lift a lot of weights, and do all those things. It took time, which I hated,” Cillian Murphy shared in an interview.
However, his efforts paid off… For many critics and fans alike, Thomas Shelby remains Cillian Murphy’s most iconic role and a showcase of the complexity and nuance of his acting skills.
Cillian Murphy’s upcoming projects
In April 2025, the actor was spotted in Small Things Like These, a film adaption of the 2020 novel of the same name by writer Claire Keegan. The Irish author set her fictional 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…
Next to him, Emily Watson and Clare Dunne delivered remarkable performances as complex figures of the convent. Cillian Murphy was highly-praised too in this poignant drama that delicately explores themes of guilt, silence, and redemption.
Steve, a new feature available on Netflix
In September 2025, the prodigious Cillian Murphy took the lead role in Tim Mielants’ latest feature Steve, available now on Netflix. This adaptation of Max Porter’s best-selling novel Shy plunges us into mid-1990s England. The film traces back twenty-four decisive hours in the life of the headmaster of a reform center for juvenile offenders and his residents. This dramatic, intimate role gives the actor yet another chance to showcase the depth of his craft and the intensity of his gaze. He shares the screen with a new generation of promising actors, including Jay Lycurgo (DC Titans).
Steve (2025) by Tim Mielants, available now on Netflix.
