Cillian Murphy

Cillian Murphy is an Irish actor and musician. He started as a band member in a rock band but later started acting in small short movies. He is most famous for his role in films like ‘Batman Begins,’ ‘Inception,’ ‘Peacock,’ and his role in the ‘Peaky Blinders.’ He is an especially decorated actor, having won many accolades. Murphy is also a patron of the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre. In 2020, he was ranked in 12th position in Ireland’s most outstanding actors list by Irish Times.

Early Life and Bio

Cillian Murphy was born on May 25, 1976. He was born in Douglas, which is a suburb of Cork City, Ireland. His father, Brendan Murphy, was an employee of the Irish Department of Education, while his mother, Jane Murphy, was a French Teacher. Cillian is the eldest of four children. He has one younger brother named Paidi Murphy and two younger sisters named Sile Murphy and Orla Murphy.

Education: School/College

Cillian Murphy completed his high school at the Catholic School Presentation Brothers College.

During his time in high school, Cillian Murphy started liking acting, and his English teacher also suggested pursuing acting, but at that time, he was more interested in music. He was part of several bands with his brother Paidi in his late teens. While he was in the band ‘The Sons of Greengenes’, they were offered a five-album record deal in 1996 by Acid Jazz Records, but the band refused it because, during that time, Paidi was still in secondary school.

After completing high school, Cillian Murphy joined University College Cork as a major In Law. But due to his lack of interest in his studies and his devotion to his band, his education was not smoothly going, and he failed the first-year exams. Cillian loved performing with his band. He said that there was no ambition behind joining University. 

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Professional Career

Cillian Murphy’s professional stage debut was in the play ‘Disco Pigs’ by ‘Enda Walsh’ in 1996. The Irish playwright ‘Enda Walsh’ discovered the young actor Murphy and his acting abilities and decided to take him on the play tour throughout Europe, Australia, and Canada. Murphy appeared in the short film ‘Quando’ in 1997. The 1999 film ‘Sunburn’ was Cillian’s first feature film, where he portrayed the character ‘Davin.’ In 2001, Murphy portrayed ‘Darren (Pig)’ in the film adaptation of ‘Disco Pigs.’ The same year he appeared in episodes of the TV mini-series ‘The Way We Live Now.’

In 2002, he led the Sci-Fi horror film ‘28 Days Later, portraying the pandemic survivor ‘Jim.’ The movie was a success worldwide. His role in the film was nominated for ‘Empire Awards’ and ‘MTV movies award’ as the best newcomer. Murphy’s name and skills were known to audiences worldwide after the successful film. Murphy starred in the Irish film ‘Intermission’ in 2003 alongside Colin Farrell, which became the highest-grossing Irish movie. In 2005, Cillian was cast as ‘Dr. Jonathan Crane’, a supervillain in the superhero film ‘Batman Begins’ alongside Katie Holmes and Gary Oldman. He got another villain role in the 2005 film ‘Red Eye.’ The same year he starred in the movie, Breakfast on Pluto, where he portrayed a transgender Irish woman’s role alongside Brendan Gleeson.

Cillian Murphy was nominated in several film awards for the ‘Best Villain’ category for Batman Begins’ film. And was also nominated in ‘Golden Globe Awards and won awards for best actor in ‘Irish Film and TV Academy’ for the film ‘Breakfast in Pluto.’ Murphy portrayed ‘Robert Cape in the movie ‘Sunshine and ‘Neil’ in ‘Watching the Detectives’ in 2007. In 2008, Murphy reprised as ‘Scarecrow’ in ‘Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight’ alongside Anthony Michael Hall. In 2010, Cillian starred alongside ‘Leonardo Di Caprio’ in another of Nolan’s Sci-Fi films ‘Inception’ portraying the role of ‘Robert Fischer Jr.’ alongside Marion Cotillard.

In 2011, Cillian Murphy performed in the monodrama ‘Misterman,’ gaining critical acclaim and positive reviews. The same year he led in the horror film ‘Retreat.’ In 2012, Murphy reappeared in Batman’s 3rd sequel, ‘The Dark Knight Rises.’ The same year he appeared in the film ‘Broken’ for which he got ‘British Independent Film Awards.’ Finally, in 2013, he led one of the most popular Peaky Blinders portraying ‘Thomas Shelby’ alongside Emmett J. Scanlan and Gaite Jansen. The series is still running to date and is in its 6th season. The show’s stars are Cillian Murphy, Paul Anderson, Helen McCrory, Sophie Rundle, Ned Dennehy, Finn Cole, Anya Taylor-Joy, Kate Phillips, Tom Hardy, Charlie Murphy, Adrien Brody, and many more.

Murphy starred in the movies Transcendence’, ‘Aloft,’ ‘In the Heart of the Sea,’ ‘Anthropoid,’ and ‘Free Fire’ from 2014 to 2016. In 2017, he was a part of a well-acclaimed and hit war film ‘Dunkirk’ alongside Barry Keoghan and Kenneth Branagh. Cillian appeared in ‘The Delinquent Season’ and ‘The Party’ in 2017.

Personal Life: Wife and Children

Cillian Murphy is currently married to visual artist Yvonne McGuinness. He met Yvonne in the year 1996 during his band’s performance in Dublin. The couple got married after almost eight years of a happy relationship together on August 1, 2004. Cillian has two sons together with Yvonne. The elder one is named Malachy Murphy, and the younger one is named Aran Murphy. The Murphy family lives in Monkstown, County Cork, and Cillian has shown no desire to move to Hollywood.

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Cillian Murphy is somewhat introverted, and he likes his personal life to be private and did not appear in any talk shows until 2010. The actor does not have any personal stylist or publicist and is often seen attending premiers of his films alone. Cillian is still deeply connected to music, even though it is not his leading career. He still enjoys playing and attending gigs with friends. 

Nationality and Physical Stats

Born on May 25, 1976, Cillian Murphy is 45 years old. Being born in Douglas County Cork, Ireland, Murphy is Irish and is White. Murphy was raised Catholic, but he claimed that he has now become an atheist. The actor is 5 ft and 9 inches tall that is 1.75 meters and 175 centimeters.

He weighs about 70 kg (154 lbs.). He has dark brown hair and blue eyes, which perfectly suits his fair complexion. He is interested in music, and his favorite band is Radiohead, but The Beatles and Van Morrison also influence him. 

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What is Cillian’s Net Worth?

Being one of the most loved actors in the film industry Cillian is a very successful actor. His net worth is estimated to be $20 million.

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• Batman Begins
• Gemini
• Irish Actor
• Peaky Blinders
• Scarecrow
• University College Cork