The One Classic Movie Cillian Murphy Says Is a Complete Masterpiece
Cillian Murphy is the kind of actor who dives deep into a role, often looking for inspiration in unexpected places. For his Oscar-winning performance as J. Robert Oppenheimer, he looked to the world of rock and roll rather than just physics textbooks. Murphy recently shared that the iconic David Bowie was the primary influence for the look of the “father of the atomic bomb.”
While working with director Christopher Nolan, the pair decided that Oppenheimer needed a very specific and fragile look. Murphy told MTV Movies that he wanted to capture a silhouette that was very fragile and very, very slim to match the physicist’s actual frame. Nolan helped by sending over photos of Bowie during his Thin White Duke era, a time when the musician was famously lean.
Murphy was particularly struck by how Bowie wore massive trousers while looking almost emaciated, describing the look as so emaciated but so f*c*i*g cool. They ended up using that style as a reference for Oppenheimer’s own wardrobe, giving the character a haunting yet stylish presence on screen. This attention to detail is a big reason why fans find Murphy’s work so compelling.
When he isn’t researching roles, Murphy is a massive fan of cinema and loves discussing the movies that shaped him. During a video session for the French outlet Konbini, he sat down with Nolan to pick out some favorites from a collection of DVDs. One of the titles he chose was the 1995 French classic La Haine, which follows three friends living in the suburbs of Paris.
Murphy didn’t just like the movie; he confessed that he was obsessed with it when it first came out. He recently showed the film to his own children and said they were absolutely knocked out by it. He still considers the movie a masterpiece that hasn’t aged at all, praising the black-and-white cinematography and the incredible music. He even admitted to owning a La Haine t-shirt and a special edition box set before he even started his own acting career.
As of this year, the Irish actor is at the center of several massive projects. He just made a surprising return to the horror genre with a cameo in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, which hit theaters in mid-January. This appearance serves as a bridge to the third film in that trilogy, where he is expected to take on a much larger role.
However, the biggest news for fans is his return to the world of the Shelby family. The highly anticipated feature film, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, is set to be released in select theaters on March 6, before moving to Netflix on March 20.
The movie finds Tommy Shelby in the middle of World War II and features an incredible cast including Barry Keoghan, Rebecca Ferguson, and Tim Roth. Murphy has also produced the drama Steve, in which he plays a headteacher struggling to keep his school and personal life together.
Are you excited to see Tommy Shelby’s story finally come to an end in the new Peaky Blinders movie this March? Share your thoughts in the comments.