It is hard to pin Cillian Murphy to one role. He has never been typecast and is believable in every role he plays. In an interview with Blindboy Boatclub of the Rubberbandits, he attributes his ability to play so many different characters believably is down to his relative anonymity in his public life. I am so glad he keeps private because he has been in so many fantastic productions.
Cillian was born in Douglas, Co. Cork in 1976. He played in a band in Cork City in the early 90s before turning to acting. His first real interational break came when he unsuccessfully auditioned for the role of Batman in Batman Begins (2005). Christopher Nolan didn’t want him for the lead role, but saw him for the part of Scarecrow. Murphy went on to appear in the following two installments of the trilogy.
He is well known for his leading role in 28 Days Later (2002). His most striking Irish role came as Damien in the Irish historical tale, The Wind that Shakes the Barley (2006). He has managed to maintain the rise of his film career with fantastic performances in Inception (2010), In the Heart of the Sea (2015) and Anthropoid (2016), while also gaining a following for his famous show Peaky Blinders, playing the role of family patriarch and leader Tommy Shelby. The hit show about the violent brothers from Birmingham has gone from height to height under Murphy’s performances.
Cillian will also be playing an important role in the upcoming sequel to the 2018 hit, A Quiet Place.
Happy birthday to an acting legend and a fellow Corkman! Thanks for all your performances, Cillian!
The Rathpeacon Rambler 