Cillian Murphy explains why he’s avoided Hollywood following ‘Oppenheimer’ success
Cillian Murphy has revealed why he hasn’t starred in further blockbusters following the astronomical success of Oppenheimer in 2023.
The Irish actor’s new movie, Steve, directed by Tim Mielants, arrives on Netflix today. In the film, Murphy plays the eponymous Steve, a “headteacher who fights to protect the school’s integrity and impending closure, we witness him grappling with his own mental health,” per the synopsis.
The synopsis continues, “In parallel to Steve’s struggles, we meet Shy (Jay Lycurgo), a troubled teen caught between his past and what lies ahead as he tries to reconcile his inner fragility with his impulse for self-destruction and violence.’
It is an independent production made by Murphy’s Big Thing Films company rather than a huge blockbuster, which is an uncommon path to take for an actor who has won ‘Best Actor’ at the Academy Awards.
His only other leading role in a movie following Oppenheimer is Small Things Like These, which arrived in 2024, and was another project made outside the Hollywood bubble.
Now, in a new interview with Variety, Murphy revealed the simple reason why he’s chosen this path rather than Hollywood, sharing, “No, because I had these other two films straight away. I just wasn’t available, so it didn’t happen. Maybe some day it will. Or maybe it’s too late.”
The Oscar-winner also said elsewhere in the interview about his post-Oppenheimer route, “The unprecedented success of Oppenheimer was this magical, extraordinary thing that happened, and I’m so grateful for it and so proud of it. But the types of films that I want to make and the types of stories that I want to tell haven’t been changed by that.
He also looked ahead to his role in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, set for release in January, but kept his lips fairly sealed, saying, “I will say that I think Nia DaCosta has made an extraordinary film, and it’s an amazing accompaniment to Danny’s movie. I’m only in it a tiny bit, but I’m really proud of it.”
Murphy’s career pipeline includes a new Peaky Blinders movie, and it was also announced this week that two new series are on the way.
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