'Oppenheimer,' 'Peaky Blinders': Cillian Murphy's acclaimed roles over the years
An artist par excellence, actor Cillian Murphy is known for not just essaying but breathing and living roles to perfection. That goes on to explain why so many of his characters are intricately written and are soaked in nuance—it's because he can bring them to life like no other. Which is your favorite film starring Murphy? Here are our favorites.
'Oppenheimer'
Though Murphy had already worked with filmmaker Christopher Nolan on several films, he always played supporting (albeit instrumental to the plot) characters. With Nolan's latest global phenomenon Oppenheimer, Murphy finally found the chance to take several steps ahead and play the eponymous role of J Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist credited with being the father of the atomic bomb. He's possibly eyeing an Oscar nomination.
'Peaky Blinders'
Peaky Blinders helped the blue-eyed Irish actor garner global popularity and his role as Thomas "Tommy" Shelby, the leader of the titular crime gang is one for the acting books. The series had a long and commendable run between 2013 and 2022, and apart from Murphy, it featured Sam Neil, Simone Kirby, Paul Anderson, and Helen McCrory, among others. It is streaming on Netflix.
'Breakfast on Pluto'
In this Neil Jordan film, Murphy opted for a transgender role. IMDb describes the plot: "In the 1970s, a young trans woman, Patrick "Kitten" Braden, comes of age by leaving her Irish town for London, in part to look for her mother and in part because her gender identity is beyond the town's understanding." It earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination.
'28 Days Later'
Murphy was relatively unknown when Danny Boyle cast him in 28 Days Later, an apocalyptic zombie horror drama, where he played Jim, a bicycle courier who awakens from a coma only to see that the outbreak of a virus has turned off the regular functioning of humankind. Casting director Gail Stevens reportedly suggested his name to Boyle due to his performance in Disco Pigs.
'Anthropoid'
For Anthropoid, Murphy collaborated with Jaime Dornan, Charlotte Le Bon, Harry Lloyd, and Anna Geislerová, among others. It was set during World War II and narrated the story of the assassination of a German police officer and one of the key perpetrators of the Holocaust, Reinhard Heydrich. The Washington Post wrote in its review, "Anthropoid never feels formulaic—a surprise in a summer release."
