CILLIAN MURPHY x ROLLING STONE UK

One of film and television’s finest actors, Cillian Murphy covers the June/July issue of Rolling Stone UK. More than 25 years after his debut, the Peaky Blinders star remains driven by his craft, bringing an intensity to every part, including his latest in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, playing J Robert Oppenheimer, inventor of the atomic bomb. Cillian talks exclusively to Rolling Stone UK about his starring role in the eagerly anticipated film, why acting is like sex, returning home to his native Ireland, and fan expectation of him to be like Peaky’s Tommy Shelby.

Cillian Murphy on acting:
“Joanne Woodward said acting is like sex: you should do it and not talk about it. And that’s why on set, with a good director, you rarely talk about the actual work. You talk around it, what you’re going to do next. I can do an immense amount of preparation, but then a lot of the action happens to you in real time. So, there is no value, really, in intellectualising anything.”

Cillian Murphy on Oppenheimer:
“I think it’s the best script I ever read. He wanted it to be solely from Oppenheimer’s perspective. And I think the film is sensational. As a person who loves films — I’m not saying it ’cos I’m in the fucking thing, I hate looking at myself — but as a lover of film, as a cinephile, I’m a Chris Nolan fan.”

Cillian Murphy on leaving for Dublin eight years ago with his wife, artist Yvonne McGuinness, and his two teenage sons:
“We had 14 years in London. But I feel like as you hit your late 30s and have kids, living in a major metropolis is less exciting. And then also, you know, we’re both Irish. We wanted the kids to be Irish. I think it’s the best decision we made… They’re really good boys. We have a laugh. We don’t do ‘Dad’s Movie Night’, but they like some of my films. They say all my films are really intense.”

Cillian Murphy on balancing a public profile with acting:
“It can ruin experiences, because it fetishises everything: you can be walking down the street and someone takes a picture like this is a fucking event. It kind of destroys nuance and human behaviour, but that’s part and parcel of it. Fame evaporates with regularity. I’m around here [a favourite restaurant of his in Dublin] all the time and no one gives a fucking shit. Nobody cares.”

Cillian Murphy on fan expectation of him to be like his Peaky Blinders character:
“I think it’s the Tommy Shelby thing. People expect this mysterious, swaggering… it’s just a character. I do feel people are a little bit underwhelmed. That’s fine, it means I’m doing my job. Peaky fans are amazing. But sometimes I feel a little sad that I can’t provide — like — that charisma and swagger. He couldn’t be further from me.”

Cillian Murphy on a Peaky Blinders film:
“If there’s more story there, I’d love to do it. But it has to be right. Steve Knight wrote 36 hours of television, and we left on such a high. I’m really proud of that last series. So, it would have to feel legitimate and justified to do more.”

Christopher Nolan on casting Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer:
“I think Oppenheimer, of all the characters that I’ve seen Cillian take on and of all the characters that I’ve dealt with in my work, is one of the most complicated and layered people. Cillian is one of the few talents able to explore those different layers, and to project that level of complexity in a way that allows you to understand the character.”

Christopher Nolan on Cillian Murphy:
“He’s the same guy he was. He hasn’t let success change him or get in the way of the truth of this process in any way. And that’s a very difficult thing for an actor to maintain across a career.”