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Top 5 Living Directors Cillian Murphy Should Work With

November 2007

• Lauren H. |
• Claudia |
• Claire |
• Pierspaul |
• Melty_Girl

Lauren H.'s List

• #5. Yahoo Movies Sunshine interview (2007)

  I love that Cillian seems to really turn on the charm in this interview, so to speak. He seems very inviting and funny, at least more laid back than in others I've seen him in. I wish there were more times when he would be open and use more of his humor. He's very animated here (if you judge just on his crazy hand movements!) and just seems generally keen on this one interview in particular. Must have been a good day! I love it when he smiles and says, "Would I [normally] live together with them? No!!" The fact that he does a lot of smiling is quite nice, too, since he is normally subdued when talking about his films.

• #4. Toronto International Film Festival interview (7 September 2006)

  On the subject of being named GQ's Actor of the Year Award, he says, "It's very nice. It's a cool magazine and it's nice to have any acknowledgment, you know?" I like that he actually shares his opinion, whereas I find that other actors tend to shrug off awards as unimportant. Of course they love it! Being named anything of the year is such an honor, and it's nice to see Cillian recognize this, even if he didn't go into a lot of detail. (Damn these short red carpet interviews!) At the end, it makes me smile when the interviewer says, "Like looking into a mirror!" Amusing and, as always, Cillian has a to-die-for facial expression.

• #3. "A, B, Cillian-Z" by Lee Wallick, Wonderland (April/May 2007)

  I think the interview style was nicely done because it opened several doors to get to know Cillian outside of his film work. It's always a bummer to see a new conversation, read it, and find that you've heard all of the information about his films already! I like the small things we learn, like his ring tone, how he likes Japanese hotels, and that he feels lost without a book on the Tube. Favorite line? "I can work the Dictaphone equals 'I can save the world'".

• #2. "Cillian Murphy" by Colin Farrell, Interview (December 2005/January 2006)

  I love that this was done between two friends. Granted, it was stilted because they couldn't have a regular conversation since it was being recorded, but it was really neat to see his interaction with a close friend. There's definitely a different dimension there, along with some really nice jokes. (See the meteorology dialogue near the end.) Let's face it, I'm a sucker for Cillian's humor. I like when he says, "For me, what's interesting in drama is when you play people under pressure, or people who change dramatically. You get to go to places you never would. You get complete license to explore those dark interiors. I just find that a bit more interesting." I definitely understand what he means, and it's nice to hear an actor talk about his craft in a serious way, a way that tells you that they love what they do.

• #1. About.com Red Eye premiere red carpet interview

  I think this interview really encompasses what I love most about Cillian: his matter-of-factness and muted sarcasm. You can tell that he thinks some of the questions are inane, but he answers them gracefully and with something that I think is a little bit deeper than most Hollywood types. It's especially appealing when you can glimpse some sincere, scaled down irritation—at least, that's what I got from the exchange. My favorite line was when he says, "Uh... you just gotta. It's the job." His facial expression along with that is priceless. That I-think-this-woman-is-absurd chuckle afterwards makes me laugh every time!

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Claudia's List

• #5. "The Same Five Questions We Always Ask" by Stephanie Trong, Jane (August 2003)

  Although this one is pretty short, I think it is the funniest Cillian Q&A I've ever read. He reveals some amusing and unknown bits about himself that I could have never imagined, like the secret urge he gets but never acts on: "women, or screaming in inappropriate places." And of course, faking an orgasm when he was younger (I had no idea men could do it too). One would think a man's partner would totally know, but guess what Cillian said to that idea? "No. I'm an actor, for God's sake."

• #4. "Cillian Murphy" by Colin Farrell, Interview (December 2005/January 2006)

  How could I not love this one? It felt like a talk between longtime friends, and I guess that must have made Cillian pretty comfortable. Gotta love how Colin praised him for his work in Breakfast on Pluto. "Your work in this movie is really gorgeous, Cillian. Really gorgeous." There were some really funny exchanges between the two that had me bursting out with laughter like Colin telling Cillian, "You're a scary old fuck," and when Colin compares hurricanes and the smell of farts and Cillian answers, "Spoken like a true meteorologist." Finally, the two of them said they would meet in Dublin over Christmas time—how cool was that?

• #3. "Cillian Murphy: A Close Encounter With the Baddest Guy of Summer", Movies.com (15 August 2005)

  I know the title and the questions were some huge samples of "lazy journalism." But I couldn't help but love Cillian's witty answers, especially when he refers to women as the superior sex: "They're beautiful. They make babies. They are funny. They are the best. There's only two sexes, but they are the best." God bless you, Mr. Murphy. It's great to see how much he respects the ladies in his life: "My mother is a very strong woman, yes. My grandmother is strong, too. She has always done her own thing and had her own mind—and still is a very strong lady at 85. I think being in the company of women like that certainly gives you a broader view of the world."

• #2. "My Music" by Victoria DeSilverio, Blender (August 2005)

  Despite not being an interview in a conventional way, I love how Cillian knows his favorite musicians and records so well. You can totally tell how passionate he is about music, especially rock: "Rock music should be sexual and angry." Cillian is sooo right about that. And I also found out that, like me, Cillian is a huge Jeff Buckley fan.

• #1. "Little Mister Sunshine" by Paul Byrne, Event Guide (6 April 2007)

  Cillian made a couple of statements in this one that pretty much define him and his approach to his career. First of all: "I certainly have no desire to go to L.A. It's just not the sort of environment that I can work in." But here's my favorite: "I'm a character actor. At least, they're the sort of roles that I'm most interested. If they also happen to be the leading man occasionally, that's fine, but I'm not interested in getting the girl, or saving the day, in the traditional leading man sense. You very rarely get interesting stories coming out of that. And part of my desire to do my job well means not being a celebrity. I would just be crap at it anyway—red carpets just make me nervous. But even if I could handle all that, I don't think I want to be popping up in the morning papers, waving to the crowd at some premiere. The less people know about Cillian Murphy the easier it is for me to do my job." I love how his whole career is all about the acting and not about the whole craziness of the media attention. That's what makes him so unique, when you compare him with most movie stars nowadays. No wonder he's the best young actor around.

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Claire's List

• #5. "The Cult of Cillian" by Michael Odell, Elle U.K. (March 2007)

  My favorite interviews are those that show the intelligence and humor of both the interviewer and the subject. (Though it's creepy that there are probably loads of inaccuracies and misquotes in these articles.) This one starts out with a bang: "Jesus, no one told me today was the feckin' apocalypse."

• #4. "A Close Shave" by Craig McLean, Telegraph Magazine (December 2005)

  I love the observation Cillian makes that as an actor you learn a lot of information very quickly and very superficially. Reminds me of plastic food. Also Neil Jordan talks about seeing Murphy in On the Edge and thinking that the effect was extraordinary. Cillian also describes himself when he was doing the play Disco Pigs in 1996. Fun.

• #3. "Murphy's Law" by Cristy Lytal, Premiere (March 2007)

  Cillian is described as being exhausted because he was up all night in Dublin with Brendan Gleeson and other Irish actors reading Gleeson's script, At Swim-Two-Birds. He just seems very open in this. He talks about family, the theme of Sunshine, vegetarianism, acting. It's funny that he tells how his wife relates that he was "fucking crazy" while filming Breakfast on Pluto. It ends with him saying that he wants to be a character actor who plays leading roles. Sorry, he'll never fade into the woodwork—not while he's still working at least.

• #2. "Actor of the Year—Cillian Murphy" by John Naughton, GQ U.K. (October 2006)

  I like this because Cillian admits here, in his typical self-deprecating manner, that he is able to pick and choose the films he has done by artistic merit, but not everybody has that luxury. When asked to quote a song lyric he has written, he says, "...No way, Not a fucking hope..." It's also great that he says a lot of the movies he has made have been very intense and he is "invariably running around, covered in blood."

• #1. "A, B, Cillian-Z" by Lee Wallick, Wonderland (April/May 2007)

  OK, let me explain myself. I hate the photograph and the framework using the alphabet is really annoying. But. It is chuck full of quirky little observations. I can't believe this guy (woman?) had the nerve to look into his iPod! I have a copy of a radio interview done on the Gerry Ryan Show where Cillian tells about leaving his iPod in a taxi, and here his iPod is called "I will not lose this iPod." Stuff I love: Cillian's observation that it is easiest to play a character where you go crazy, because that puts a barrier up between you and the audience; that he doesn't pay much attention to his eyes but "it never did Paul Newman any harm"; that he wanted to be a California highway patrolman or a cowboy.

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Pierspaul's List

• #5. "Cillian Murphy Reveals Versatile Self" by Atsuko Matsumoto, Daily Yomiuri (18 November 2006)

  His descriptions of the acting process and working with Ken Loach are insightful. For example: "I absolutely adore that way of working. You don't spend hours poring over words and deciding on how you're gonna say them—it just happens, and that to me is what acting should be about."

• #4. "The End Is Nigh", Empire (2002)

  Like the New York Times piece, this was done at an early point in his career when he was much less guarded and didn't do as many press junkets. It's interesting to read the comments about him giggling and laughing loudly when describing scenes.

• #3. "The Heartthrob in the Walk-Up" by Sarah Lyall, The New York Times (7 December 2003)

  This is an interesting article as he was at a point in his career where he felt comfortable having the reporter in his home. I don't think he'd ever do that now.

• #2. Wind That Shakes the Barley feature (2006)

  In print, Cillian often comes across as being very serious, whereas in less formal interview settings such as this one he is more relaxed, and his personality and humour are more in evidence.

• #1. "Cillian Murphy, Breakfast on Pluto by Stephen Schaefer, Beyond the Subtitles, WPS1 Art Radio (19 December 2005)

  The warmth in Cillian's voice when talking about his feelings for Kitten and working on Breakfast on Pluto is very beautiful. I also like that he stands up for himself when the interviewer insinuates that he must have had an award agenda in taking the role.

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Melty_Girl's List

• #5. "Cillian Murphy vs. Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene" by Mark Redfern and Marcus Kagler, Under the Radar (Spring 2007)

  Cillian is interviewed here by Kevin Drew, the leader of Broken Social Scene. It brings out a different tone in Cillian as he discusses his work, and it's fun to hear the music fan in him ask Kevin questions. It's really sweet when he confesses, "And listen, I might just get the embarrassment out of the way. You know, you guys are my favorite band. Like, properly favorite band. So, we'll get that out of the way." They cover a lot of ground, acting and music-wise—it's an indispensable interview.

• #4. "The Heartthrob in the Walk-Up" by Sarah Lyall, The New York Times (7 December 2003)

  This article truly gives you a sense of Cillian's humble (pre-baby) home life. He's home playing video games, wearing a worn out sweater and corduroys, sitting on furniture found on the street, excited because he's getting a washing machine. And he locks himself out of his apartment, something he apparently does all the time. The discussion of his roles and playing music before that are good, but what sets this interview apart are the personal details like how his parents are proud "as long as I'm busy and engaged in some way and keeping my mind occupied, and not bumming money off them."

• #3. "The Same Five Questions We Always Ask" by Stephanie Trong, Jane (August 2003)

  Jane's usual five questions bring out some really frank and funny admissions from Cillian, who's only gotten more guarded with time (perfectly understandable). A secret urge he never acts on? "Women." Very human! It's also fascinating to hear how he fired a bandmate because he and the rest of the band were jealous of the guy's looks. And he's very restrained about ever gushing over actresses' sex appeal, so it's fun to hear him choose Maggie Gyllenhaal as a celeb he'd like to make out with—but typically, he hastens to add that "she seems smart"! And admitting that he's faked orgasm is hilariously honest (and almost serves like a public service announcement about sex).

• #2. "Luck of the Irish" by Jenelle Riley, Back Stage (17-23 November 2005)

  This is simply one of the most comprehensive feature stories on Cillian's career to date. Because it's an acting trade mag, it really delves into some rich stuff about Cillian's process and the finer details of how he made it, like how he got his first agent, how Danny Boyle found him, and so on. Lots of good stuff here, like how he got Christian Bale's advice about how to hang on to his privacy: "He pretty much told me, 'Don't behave like a celebrity, and you won't get treated like one.' I guess if you don't go out to a lot of parties and fall down, people don't take photographs of you." Or Cillian's perspective on smaller theaters: "I remember doing Disco Pigs in its first incarnation and turning and getting sweat all over the front row. It was so visceral and dirty and sweaty. Then, when you start playing to bigger auditoriums, it's not as sexy."

• #1. "My Music" by Victoria DeSilverio, Blender (August 2005)

  I love hearing Cillian talk about music, and this is the best example of that. Plus, he tells good stories; the one about meeting Mick Jagger is a riot. Of course, it helps that many of the albums here are some of my all-time favorites—I suppose I think Cillian has good taste or flatter myself that I do! But seeing that certainly led me to finally check out Kings of Leon, so I have to thank Cillian for that.

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