Cillian Murphy (born May 25, 1976) is an Irish actor. He made his professional debut in Enda Walsh's 1996 play Disco Pigs, a role he later reprised in the 2001 screen adaptation. His early notable film credits include the horror film 28 Days Later (2002), the dark comedy Intermission (2003), the thriller Red Eye (2005), the Irish war drama The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006), and the science fiction thriller Sunshine (2007). He played a transgender Irish woman in the comedy-drama Breakfast on Pluto (2005), which earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination. Murphy began collaborating with filmmaker Christopher Nolan in 2005, playing Dr. Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow in The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005–2012) as well as appearing in Inception (2010) and Dunkirk (2017) and portraying the lead role of J. Robert Oppenheimer in the biographical epic Oppenheimer (2023). By the year 2023, Murphy has already worked with Nolan for around 20 years and six films. He also gained prominence for his role as Tommy Shelby in the BBC period drama series Peaky Blinders (2013–2022) and for starring in the horror sequel A Quiet Place Part II (2020). In 2011, Murphy won the Irish Times Theatre Award for Best Actor and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance for the one-man play Misterman. In 2020, The Irish Times named him one of the greatest Irish film actors.

Filmography

• 2027A Quiet Place Part III — Emmett
• 202628 Years Later: The Bone Temple — Jim (uncredited), Executive Producer
• 2026Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man — Tommy Shelby, Producer
• 202528 Years Later — Executive Producer
• 2025Steve — Steve, Producer
• 2024Kensuke's Kingdom — Dad (voice)
• 2024Peaky Blinders: Rambert’s The Redemption of Thomas Shelby — Thomas Shelby (voice)
• 2024Small Things Like These — Bill Furlong, Producer
• 2023Oppenheimer — J. Robert Oppenheimer
• 2021A Quiet Place Part II — Emmett
• 2021All of This Unreal Time — Man
• Fight for First: Excel Esports — Narrator
• A World of Calm — Narrator
• 2019Anna — Lenny Miller
• 2019I'm the Man — Narrator
• 2018The Delinquent Season — Jim
• 2018The Overcoat — Akaky (voice)
• 2018The Silent Man — The Doll
• 2017Dunkirk — Shivering Soldier
• 2017Free Fire — Chris
• 2017The Party — Tom
• 2016Anthropoid — Josef Gabčík
• 2015In the Heart of the Sea — Matthew Joy
• 2014Aloft — Ivan
• 2014From the Mountain — Man
• 2014Transcendence — Agent Donald Buchanan
• 2013Harriet and the matches — Cat (voice)
• Peaky Blinders — Thomas Shelby, Executive Producer
• 2012Broken — Mike Kiernan
• 2012Red Lights — Tom Buckley
• 2012The Dark Knight Rises — Dr. Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow
• 2011In Time — Raymond Leon
• 2011Misterman — Thomas Magill
• 2011Retreat — Martin
• 2010Inception — Robert Fischer, Jr.
• 2010Peacock — John Skillpa / Emma Skillpa
• 2010Perrier's Bounty — Michael McCrea
• 2010TRON: Legacy — Edward Dillinger (uncredited)
• 2009The Water — The Son
• 2008The Dark Knight — Scarecrow
• 2008The Edge of Love — William Killick
• 2008Waveriders — Narrator
• 2007Sunshine — Capa
• 2007Watching the Detectives — Neil
• 2006The Silent City — Unnamed Character
• 2006The Wind That Shakes the Barley — Damien
• 2005Batman Begins — Dr. Jonathan Crane
• 2005Breakfast on Pluto — Patrick 'Kitten' Braden
• 2005Red Eye — Jackson Rippner
• 2003Cold Mountain — Bardolph
• 2003Girl with a Pearl Earring — Pieter
• 2003Intermission — John
• 200228 Days Later — Jim
• 2002How Harry Became a Tree — Gus
• 2001Disco Pigs — Pig / Darren
• 2001On the Edge — Jonathan Breech
• The Way We Live Now — Paul Montague
• 2001Watchmen — Phil, Writer, Co-Producer
• 2000A Man of Few Words — Best Man
• 2000Filleann an Feall — Ger
• 1999At Death's Door — Young Reaper
• 1999Eviction — Brendan McBride
• 1999Sunburn — Davin McDerby
• 1999Sweety Barrett — Pat the Barman
• 1999The Trench — Rag Rookwood
• 1997Quando — Pat
• 28 Years Later: Part III — Executive Producer
• Blood Runs Coal — Chip Yablonski, Producer
• Peaky Blinders: A Peek Behind the Curtain — Thomas Shelby / Tommy / Himself
• Sacrifice
• Untitled Peaky Blinders Sequel — Executive Producer

Appearances as themselves (18)

• 2023Inside Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer — Self - J. Robert Oppenheimer
• 2019The Irish Revolution — Self - Narrator (voice)
• The Irish Revolution — Self - Narrator (voice)
• 2016Versus: The Life and Films of Ken Loach — Self - Actor
• 2015Atlantic: The Wildest Ocean on Earth — Himself - Narrator
• Atlantic: The Wildest Ocean on Earth — Self - Narrator
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert — Self - Guest
• Late Night with Seth Meyers — Self - Guest
• 2014Lennon or McCartney — Self
• Variety Studio: Actors on Actors — Self
• The Graham Norton Show — Self
• 2006Carry On Ken — Self
• The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson — Self
• Jimmy Kimmel Live! — Self - Guest
• 2003Pure Rage: The Making of '28 Days Later' — Self
• 60 Minutes — Self
• The Oscars — Self, Self - Presenter
• Golden Globe Awards — Self - Nominee