The actor who conquered hearts with his role in the TV series 'Peaky Blinders': Who is Cillian Murphy?

Cillian Murphy was born on May 25, 1976 in Douglas, Cork, Ireland. His mother is a French teacher and his father Brendan is a school inspector. Murphy has a younger brother named Páidi and two younger sisters named Sile and Orla, and they grew up together in Cork. Murhpy, who started writing and performing songs at the age of 10, was brought up as a Catholic. He went to the Catholic secondary school Presentation Brothers College. Although he excelled academically in school, he often got into trouble, sometimes suspended from his education.

Murphy got his first taste of acting in middle school by participating in a drama module presented by his director, Pat Kiernan, and began pursuing it. During his childhood and youth, he sang and played guitar in several bands with his brother Páidi.

After graduating high school, he began studying law at University College Cork in 1996, but failed his freshman exams and turned his interest into acting. His first major role was in UCC Drama Society's amateur production "Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme" starring comedian Des Bishop.

Murphy made his professional acting debut on stage in September 1996, playing a role in Enda Walsh's "Disco Pigs." Originally the role would run for three weeks, but "Disco Pigs" toured Europe, Canada and Australia for two years. Thus, Murphy dropped out of both the university and his band. He did not return to music after his first manager said he had caught his performance and his acting career was starting to take off.

He later appeared in many other theatrical productions of Shakespeare, including "Much Ado About Nothing" (1998), "The Country Boy" (1999), and "Juno and the Paycock" (1999). He then began appearing in the independent film "On the Edge"(2001) and short films such as "Filleann an Feall"(2000) and "Watchmen"(2001). Additionally, he reprized his role in the movie adaptation of "Disco Pigs"(2001). During this period, he moved to Dublin for a while, then to London in 2001.

He starred as his Jim in the post-apocalyptic horror film "28 Days Later" (2002), directed by Danny Boyle. Released in late 2002, the film became a hit and a worldwide success. Thus, it introduced Murphy to a wide audience for the first time. His performance earned him Best Newcomer nominations at the 8th Empire Awards and nominations for Breakthrough Male Performance at the 2004 MTV Movie Awards.

In 2003, he played Konstantine in the stage production of Chekhov's play "The Seagull" at the Edinburgh International Festival. That same year, he co-starred with Colin Farrell in "Intermission" (2003), the highest-grossing Irish independent black comedy crime film in Irish box office history. He then appeared in a small supporting role in the Hollywood era war drama film "Cold Mountain" (2003), directed by Anthony Minghella. Later that year, he played the butcher role in "Girl with a Pearl Earring" (2003), with Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth.

Murphy appeared as Dr. Jonathan Crane, the supervillain Scarecrow, in the superhero movie "Batman Begins" (2005), directed by Christopher Nolan. In the same year, he played the role of Jackson Rippner in the psychological thriller "Red Eye" (2005), directed by Wes Craven. The film earned positive reviews and nearly $100 million worldwide. Murphy was nominated for multiple awards for his roles as villain in 2005. Among them was a Best Villain nomination at the 2006 MTV Movie Awards for his performance in "Batman Begins." Entertainment Weekly magazine named Murhpy among the 2005 "Summer MVPs", a cover story of 10 actors with outstanding groundbreaking performances.

In 2005, he played the role of an Irish transgender woman searching for his mother in the comedy-drama film "Breakfast on Pluto" (2005), based on the novel of the same name directed by Neil Jordan. He prepared for the role in 2004 by meeting a transvestite who dresses his and takes his to the club with other transvestites. In addition, it required "serious preparation" such as eyebrow plucking and chest and leg hair removal. The film received moderate reviews and major praise for Murphy's performance. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy and won his fourth Irish Film and Television Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance. Additionally, Premiere magazine named his performance among the "24 Best Performances of 2005".

In 2006, Murphy starred in "The Wind That Shakes the Barley," a film about the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War, directed by Ken Loach. The film won the Palme d'Or at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and became the most successful Irish independent film at the Irish box office. GQ men's magazine awarded Murphy the 2006 Actor of the Year Award for his role in the film. Later, Murphy returned from November 2006 to February 2007, playing the lead role in John Kolvenbach's "Love Song" with Neve Campbell at the New Ambassadors Theater in London's West End. Variety magazine rated his performance in the play as "as appealing as on stage".

The following year, he starred as a physicist-astronaut in the science fiction movie "Sunshine" (2007) directed by Danny Boyle. He then appeared with Lucy Liu in the romantic comedy film "Watching the Detectives" (2007) directed by Paul Soter.

Murphy briefly reprized his role as the Scarecrow in Nolan's sequel "The Dark Knight" (2008). He then appeared with Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller and Matthew Rhys in the biographical romantic drama film "The Edge of Love", about a love quadrilateral featuring poet Dylan Thomas. A year later, he appeared in "The Water", a short film directed by Kevin Drew, as the rock singer Feist with David Fox. He also starred in "Perrier's Bounty," a black comedy crime drama he acted alongside Brendan Gleeson.

In 2010, he returned to theater with "From Galway to Broadway", a stage show celebrating the Druid Theater Company's 35th birthday. He then appeared in the psychological thriller "Peacock" (2010), in which he co-starred with Elliot Page, Susan Sarandon and Bill Pullman. Murphy next starred as entrepreneur Robert Fischer in the sci-fi action movie "Inception" (2010), directed by Christopher Nolan. He starred in the film with a large cast including Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanable, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Tom Hardy and Ellen Page.

The following year, he appeared in the stage monodrama "Misterman," written and directed by Enda Walsh. He received critical acclaim and acclaim for his role as Murphy, and won the Irish Times Theater Award and Drama Desk Award. He then starred opposite Jamie Bell and Thandiwe Newton in the limited-release British horror-thriller "Retreat"(2011). He also appeared in the science fiction action movie "In Time"(2011), starring Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried, which received poor reviews.

Murphy starred alongside Robert De Niro and Sigourney Weaver as Tom Buckley in the supernatural thriller "Red Lights" (2012). Murphy saw working with Robert De Niro as one of the scariest moments in his career. The film received mixed reviews by critics and was a low success at the box office. Murphy reprized his role as the Scarecrow in the sequel "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012) and had a supporting role as Mike in the British independent drama film "Broken" (2012). He earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the British Independent Film Award for his performance.

Since 2013, he has appeared as Thomas Shelby in the Steven Knight-directed BBC crime drama television series "Peaky Blinders," about a crime gang in Birmingham in the post-World War I era. While the series was praised, it received high ratings. That same year, he made his directorial debut with a music video for Money's single "Hold Me Forever".

Murphy starred in the 2014 drama film "Aloft" and the science fiction thriller "Transcendence" directed by Wally Pfister. Both received mostly negative reviews. In the same year, he reunited with Enda Walsh in the play "Ballyturk". He then starred in the adventure-drama movie "In the Heart of the Sea" directed by Ron Howard. In 2015, he was named one of GQ men's magazine's 50 best-dressed men. In 2016, Murphy starred as soldier Jozef Gabčík in the black comedy action movie "Free Fire" directed by Ben Wheatley.

The following year, he appeared in the war movie "Dunkirk" (2017), directed by Christopher Nolan, as a shocked Army officer who is rescued from a wrecked ship. He said his character, who is anonymous and referred to simply as "The Trembling Soldier," is "representative of the profound emotional and psychological toll that war can have, experienced by thousands of soldiers." He played Emmett, a survivor and former family friend of the Abbotts, in the post-apocalyptic horror film "A Quiet Place Part II," which was released on May 28, 2021.

Murphy will reportedly play the role of J. Robert Oppenheimer in Nolan's new biopic "Oppenheimer," which will be released on July 21, 2023.

Personal life

In 1996, he met Yvonne McGuinness at one of the shows of the rock band. The long-time lovers married in mid-2004. The couple has two children. These are two boys born in December 2005 and July 2007.

Murphy travels alone and often attends movie premieres alone. Murhpy, who is shy and introverted, said that he was not interested in the celebrity scene and saw the red carpet experience as a "challenge". He also doesn't like to talk much about his life outside of acting. He did not appear on any television talk shows until 2010, when he was a guest on Ireland's Late Late Show.

Murphy participated in the 2007 Rock the Vote Ireland campaign, which campaigned for the rights of the homeless. Murhpy, who was patron of the UNESCO Center for Child and Family Research at the National University of Ireland Galway in 2011, is closely associated with the work of Professor Pat Dolan, Director of UCFRC and UNESCO Chair for Children, Youth and Civic Engagement.

Saying that music is still an important part of his life, Murphy no longer plays in a rock band. However, he regularly plays and writes music with friends and by himself. Murhpy, who has been a vegetarian for nearly 15 years, said it was more because he was "concerned about contracting mad cow disease" rather than a moral decision. Murhpy likes to run.