The role Cillian Murphy wants to delete from history: “Jesus, can I stop talking about that movie?”
Cillian Murphy has played many memorable characters over the years. The Irish actor started out in the theatre and independent cinema before landing his breakthrough role in Danny Boyle’s post-apocalyptic horror movie 28 Days Later in 2002. From there, he began to play small roles in major Hollywood films like Cold Mountain and Girl with the Pearl Earring.
When he linked up with Christopher Nolan to play Dr Jonathan Crane (also known as Scarecrow) in the first Batman movie, it kicked off a collaboration that would prove extremely fruitful for both of them. Murphy has appeared in six of the director’s movies so far, the most recent of which, Oppenheimer, proved to be the icing on the cake for both of them. It won ‘Best Picture’ at the Oscars and earned Murphy the ‘Best Actor’ award and Nolan the ‘Best Director’ award.
Outside of movies, the actor is most well-known for his role as Tommy Shelby in the wildly popular period crime drama Peaky Blinders. After six seasons, Murphy was practically synonymous with the character until he reasserted himself as a pre-eminent film actor in Oppenheimer. If you were to guess which of his roles comes up the most frequently when he’s mixing with members of the public, Tommy Shelby would probably be at the top of the list. Strangely enough, however, it is neither Peaky Blinders nor a Christopher Nolan collaboration that follows him wherever he goes. It’s an action movie from the early 2000s, and, quite frankly, he’s had enough of it.
If you happen to find yourself hanging out with Cillian Murphy, first of all, congratulations, that’s so cool, but second of all, do not broach the subject of Red Eye. Don’t even namecheck it. Leave it at the door. Forget it even exists. To put it mildly, the Oscar winner is sick and tired of all the fans who just can’t stop talking about it, and you don’t want to be one of those people.
In a 2020 conversation with Uproxx, Murphy expressed himself plainly. When the interviewer dared to say that Red Eye was a good movie, he shot back, “Everyone keeps fucking saying that.” When the interviewer responded that it’s just one of those films people tend to watch whenever it comes up on television, the star responded, “My point being is, Jesus, can I stop talking about that movie?”
Directed by horror maestro Wes Craven, Red Eye stars Rachel McAdams as a hotel manager who is tormented on an overnight flight by a terrorist named Jackson Rippner (Murphy), who is plotting an assassination. To be fair to all the people who bring the film up with the actor, he is incredibly creepy in it, and it’s the type of tense, heart-pounding thriller that is perfect for a casual movie night at home.
It’s hard to accept Murphy’s dismissal of the movie and by extension, his performance in it. He has to go from seductive leading man to ice-cold villain in the span of a few minutes, and it is genuinely terrifying. It’s difficult to imagine any other actor pulling it off with quite so much sinister perfection.
Murphy admitted that he hadn’t seen the film since it was released and had always thought of it as a schlocky B movie. “I didn’t think I gave a very nuanced performance in it, he continued, “But, listen, if people love the movie then that’s great. I’m pleased with that.” Maybe if he watches it again sometime, he’ll realise just how much he’s been underselling himself all these years.
