Cillian Murphy Biography

Born on May 25, 1976, in Douglas, a suburb of Cork city, Ireland, Cillian is the oldest child of Brendan Murphy, an employee of the Irish Department of Education and his French-tutor wife. He has a brother, Páidi, and two sisters, Orla and Sile. Raised in Ballintemple, another suburb of Cork, Cillian began playing music and composing songs at ten years of age.

Cillian Murphy’s love for acting increased exponentially after watching Corcadorca Theatre Company’s production of ‘A Clockwork Orange’ in Dublin. In September 1996, he debuted as a professional actor in the play ‘Disco Pigs’. About a year later, he acted in Declan Recks’ short film ‘Quando’. In 1999, he starred in his debut feature film, ‘Sunburn’, alongside Paloma Baeza and Sinead Keenan.

After a succession of independent films, he was cast as the lead in ‘28 Days Later’ (2002). Made with an $8 million budget, Boyle’s post-apocalyptic sci-fi horror earned $84.7 million at the box office. They worked together again in the sci-fi thriller ‘Sunshine’ (2007). For his role as the nuclear physicist/astronaut Robert Capa, Murphy consulted with physicist Brian Cox.

In 2017, he appeared in Mark O’Rowe’s directorial venture ‘The Delinquent Season’. 

Cillian Murphy first worked with Nolan in 2005 superhero film ‘Batman Begins’, playing Jonathan Crane or Scarecrow. In the film, Scarecrow is a corrupt psychopharmacologist serving as the Chief Administrator of Arkham Asylum. Murphy wanted to make the character less theatrical in Nolan’s film which was grounded in realism to begin with. He reprised role in both sequels of the movie, ‘The Dark Knight’ (2008) and ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ (2012) and provided the voice for the character in ‘Batman Begins’ video game (2005).

His second film with the visionary director was ‘Inception’ (2010). He was cast as Robert Michael Fischer, who is the heir of a business empire and the target of the team of thieves led by Leonardo DiCaprio’s character Dom Cobb. Murphy identified Fischer as a “petulant child who needs a lot of attention from his father” and read about Rupert Murdoch’s sons to add depth to his portrayal.

Cillian Murphy met visual artist Yvonne McGuinness in 1996, at one of his band’s performances in Dublin. After almost eight years of dating, they married on August 1, 2004. The couple have two sons together, Malachy (born 2005) and Aran (born 2007). 

Cillian Murphy is a talented musician and has played in several bands, including the group "Sons of Mr Green Genes" where he was the lead singer and guitarist.

He is known for his intense blue eyes, which have become a trademark of his on-screen presence.

Despite his success in Hollywood, Cillian Murphy has managed to maintain a relatively low profile in his personal life, preferring to stay out of the spotlight when he's not working.

In addition to his acting skills, Murphy is also skilled in dialects and accents, which has helped him portray a wide range of characters from different backgrounds.

Cillian Murphy has a passion for photography and has even had his work featured in exhibitions, showcasing his talent behind the camera as well as in front of it.