Cillian Murphy: Hollywood’s New Leading Man

Irish actor Cillian Murphy accepts the award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for "Oppenheimer"

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Fresh off his Oscar win last February, for his spectacular performance in Oppenheimer (his 6th collaboration with Christopher Nolan, and his first time as a lead actor for the filmmaker) Cillian Murphy seems to have become Hollywood’s new leading man. The next couple of years will be very busy for the Irish actor, who currently has 4 projects lined up (actually 5 projects if we count the sequel to 28 Days Later, 28 Years Later, as the actor will serve as producer, however it is not confirmed yet that Murphy will be reprising his role as well).

Small Things Like These

In February, Murphy presented his upcoming film, Small Things Like These at the Berlin International Film Festival. The movie, directed by Tim Mielants, is based on Claire Keegan’s best seller book of the same name. The story takes place in 1985 in Ireland, and focuses on Bill Furlong, loving father of 5 daughters, who will soon discover the dark secrets kept by the local convent.

During a press conference at the Berlin Film Festival, Murphy declared that he really wanted to work with Mielants again, after working with him on Peaky Blinders season 3. They then both started looking for a project they could do together: ‘’My wife, I think, said ‘What about Claire Keegan? ’ said Murphy. "I had read the book but I didn’t realize the rights were available’’

The book tackles the scandal of the The Mother and Baby Homes and the Magdalene Laundries, which were open from 1922 to 1996, where young ‘’fallen’’ women were sent to, especially if they were pregnant and unmarried. ‘’I do think it was a collective trauma’’ explained Murphy. ‘’Art can be a useful bandage for the wounds, the book certainly was, it was a huge seller in Ireland (…) The irony of the book is that it is a Christian man, trying to do the Christian thing, in a dysfunctional Christian society. It asks a lot of questions about complicity, silence and shame. I really think the duty of art is not to answer the questions but to provoke them’’. The first reviews raved about Murphy’s powerful performance in the film, which should hopefully be out in theaters by the end of the year.

Tim Mielants (l), director, and Cillian Murphy, actor, walk the red carpet on the opening night of ... [+] the Berlinale for "Small Things Like These"

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Blood Runs Coal

It was recently announced that Universal Pictures landed an adaptation of Blood Runs Coal: The Yablonski Murders and the Battle for the United Mine Workers of America by Mark A. Bradley. Murphy will star in the project and serve as producer as well. The true crime story takes place in the 60s, in Pennsylvania’s coal mines, after the murder of United Mine Workers labor leader, Joseph Yablonski. His son, Chip Yablonski, portrayed by Murphy, will become an attorney, seeking justice for his family. Jez Butterworth (Spectre, Ford v Ferrari) will co-write the script with John-Henry Butterworth (Edge of Tomorrow, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny).

Steve

Murphy is also set to star in and produce Steve, adapted from Max Porter’s novel Shy. The film will be directed by Tim Mielants, with Porter set to write the stript. Steve will mark the first movie produced by Murphy and his collaborator Alan Moloney through their new production company, Big Things Films. Murphy will portray a headteacher facing a crucial day as he tries to reform his school and help his students.

Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight at the unveiling of a mural by artist Akse P19 of actor Cillian ... [+] Murphy

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Peaky Blinders

Finally, Peaky Blinders’s creator Steven Knight just revealed that Murphy will be reprising his role as Tommy Shelby in a Peaky Blinders’ film. Knight declared to the Birmingham World: ‘’He definitely is returning for it (...) We're shooting it in September just down the road in Digbeth." Murphy never completely closed the Peaky Blinders chapter: “I have always said that if Knight delivers a script that I know he can deliver, because he is such a phenomenal writer, I’ll be there," the Oscar-winning actor declared to the Irish Star. It comes with no surprise that Knight was able to deliver such a high-quality script, to the delight of the fans of the hit BBC drama.