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Feature in Flair + the real story behind Once

29 May 2007 at 11:43 PM | by Lilith, with Melty_Girl and Pierspaul

La Legge di Murphy

Cillian Murphy in Flair by Jerome Albertini
See the whole Flair spread

That's "Murphy's Law", by the way, the title that Cillian has said he hates. But maybe he won't mind how it sounds in Italian magazine Flair. We've just added scans of the article and the English transcript to our archives.

Cillian covers a lot in this short interview. He talks a little about preparation for Sunshine and Breakfast on Pluto and praises the directors he's worked with; Neil Jordan ("a visionary"), Danny Boyle ("an inspiration"), and Ken Loach ("a mythical figure").

In response to a question about his environmental commitment, he says:

"I do what I can. At home we only use low energy light bulbs and I try to walk or use public transport instead of driving."

...and adds that it's not hard to take the bus because...

"Nobody recognizes me in London, maybe because I don't play the star."

Asked about his dream role, he again says:

"A cowboy in a Western. I've dreamt of doing it ever since I was little—riding across the prairie."

But my favourite part of the interview is this nice exchange about fatherhood:

What was the most exciting moment of your life?
"The birth of my son Malachy. Suddenly my whole viewpoint changed and what's closest to my heart now is protecting and supporting my family."

Are you the one who reads him bedtime stories?
"Why, are there dads who don't?"

Why Cillian backed out, Once and for all

If you've been with us since the beginning, you may remember my 16 March blog entry after the indie musical Once, to which Cillian was once attached, took home the audience award at the Sundance Film Festival. Now, in the most candid interview we've seen, Glen Hansard talks to The Gazette (Montreal) about how he came to take Cillian's part in the film:

And then something weird happened with Cillian. I don't know exactly what happened; Cillian reportedly had a problem working with non-actresses, number one, and then when he heard the songs, Cillian got a little bit freaked out, because I go from singing quite quiet into falsetto and then getting quite loud in places, and Cillian was a bit nervous about the songs. And at this stage, (director) John (Carney) had fallen in love with them, so John was like, "I really want these songs." And Cillian was like, "Well, dude, I can't sing them."

It's true that playing opposite Czech musician Markéta Irglová in her first acting role would have been a very risky proposition. And as much as we would have loved to hear Cillian sing The Swell Season, it's probably wise that he realized he couldn't match Hansard's impressive vocal range.

Of note, however, is the fact that Cillian had been in talks to produce the film. It will be interesting to see what projects might catch his eye as a producer in the future.

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Melty_Girl
Posts: 1
Comment
Re: Once
Reply #7 on : Tue June 05, 2007, 12:25:12
GoGo, you're welcome. Cillian is a good recommender of music!

I am looking forward to seeing "Once," and at this point I can't quite imagine Cillian in that part. Glen Hansard has an amazing, flexible voice with a wide range, and when he writes, he writes for that. QuietOne, I think you're right about Cillian recognizing his own limitations. He did sound very sweet on "So New," and good also on "You Really Got Me" (both in "Disco Pigs"), but he doesn't seem to have a strong falsetto -- in "Breakfast on Pluto" he did OK singing as Kitten, but it seemed like a little bit of stretch vocally. He has a wispy falsetto, not the strong, flexible falsetto needed to sing Hansard's songs credibly.
GoGo
Posts: 5
Comment
Once
Reply #6 on : Mon June 04, 2007, 01:51:35
wow, i had no idea cillian was supposed to be the lead in once. usually i avoid musicals like the plague, but i checked out the soundtrack out of curiousity and it has blown my mind. such sweet, beautiful music! being a fan of cillian has led me to find some really random, really good music. thanks cilliansite! and the gazette interview was quite fascinating as well. he really does talk very candidly about what happened. i wish cillian could have done this aftr all though.
QuietOne
Posts: 5
Comment
Once
Reply #5 on : Sun June 03, 2007, 19:08:37
I had read that Cillian was originally picked to play the lead male role in "Once"(it's in theatres now!). As tremendously talented as Cillian is, I would rather see Cillian in a movie where he knows he can give his absolute best performance-wise. Cillian really seems to care enough about the quality of his performances that he is even willing to admit to his limitations--he could have had another singer's voice dubbed in over his own, but that's never a good thing. I do have to admit that I love his singing voice when he sang "So New" during the closing credits of "Disco Pigs" .
Lilith
Posts: 1
Comment
Re:
Reply #4 on : Wed May 30, 2007, 17:35:51
I kept my eyes peeled every time I took the tube in London -- never saw him once! I love his modesty, but I'm pretty sure I would have recognised him.
Claudia
Posts: 5
Comment
Movin to London
Reply #3 on : Wed May 30, 2007, 10:37:55
If I could only come up with the cash... Well, if I don't move there, I'll make sure to visit anyway. I don't care how may buses I have to ride ;)
icela
Posts: 5
Comment
aww!
Reply #2 on : Wed May 30, 2007, 09:32:26
gotta go to london very soon!
Dayu
Posts: 5
Comment
Love it..love it..love it!!!
Reply #1 on : Wed May 30, 2007, 03:57:11
I wish i could met him somewhere in london on a bus!! made my day a lot...