Within two months of playing Scarecrow in Batman Begins, which kickstarted his years-long working bond with Christopher Nolan, Cillian Murphy was back in theatres playing another villain. However, his sentiments towards the latter are a bit mixed, as even though Red Eye did good at the box office and earned decent reviews from critics, Murphy isn’t a big fan of it.
Starring Rachel McAdams and Murphy in the lead, Red Eye saw Murphy playing a charming guy who turns out to be a terrorist, but per the actor, it wasn’t a very nuanced performance on his part.
Cillian Murphy Isn’t a Fan of Red Eye That Critics Rated High Upon Its Release
Speaking with GQ, Cillian Murphy revealed that he avoided watching his movies that are generally not rated high. However, he did watch 2005’s Red Eye and wasn’t particularly a fan of it, even though critics at the time spoke highly of the crime thriller. While the duality of the character that he played was appealing to him, and he loved working with Rachel McAdams, the end product, which grossed over $96M, left a lot to be desired for the actor.
Murphy then went on to deem it a B movie, explaining,
“I think it’s the duality of it. It’s why I wanted to play it. That two thing. The nice guy and the bad guy in one. The only reason it appealed to me is you could do that…that turn, you know? “I love Rachel McAdams and we had fun making it. But I don’t think it’s a good movie. It’s a good B movie.”
However, in recent years, the actor is not as hypercritical of himself as he once was and is fine with people enjoying Red Eye, even though it’s not his cup of tea.
Cillian Murphy Has Stopped Being Hypercritical of His Performances
Speaking with Uproxx previously, Cillian Murphy revealed that during his younger days in the industry, he hated watching himself perform, and seeing Red Eye certainly didn’t help. The Oscar nominee stressed that his performance lacked nuance but commended McAdams’ performance. But despite his complaints about the movie and his performance, the actor has come to terms with it, stating that he is less hypercritical of himself now and was pleased that fans enjoyed the movie.
“When I was a younger actor, I was really, really hard on everything that I was in. I hated watching myself. I hated looking at myself on screen. I remember when I saw it was like ‘Oh, that’s kind of a schlocky B movie.’ Rachel McAdams is excellent in it. But I didn’t think I gave a very nuanced performance in it. But, listen, if people love the movie then that’s great. I’m pleased with that. I’m less hard on myself now when I look at stuff. I’m less hypercritical of my work. But that’s probably a hangover from that to be honest.”
But while the Inception Star isn’t very proud of his work in Red Eye, his other movie that debuted in the same summer, Batman Begins, would turn out to be a massive turning point for Murphy’s career. And almost 2-decades after his first collaboration with Christopher Nolan, the actor was finally allowed to star in the lead of a Nolan film, becoming the favorite to bag an Oscar this year.
Red Eye is available to stream on Paramount Plus.
