Cillian Murphy has starred in a host of films that have been critically and commercially well-received, and also one that has a huge fan following. Be it his recent success with Oppenheimer, or his role as Thomas Shelby in Peaky Blinders, Murphy has amassed quite a collection of critically acclaimed outings when it comes to his acting career.
Despite playing roles in such critically acclaimed ventures, Murphy revealed in an interview with Variety, that he categorically avoids watching things he has starred in. However, there is one film that the actor finds himself circling back to, watching again and again, and it’s not any of his collaborations with Christopher Nolan.
Cillian Murphy circles back to 28 Days Later again and again
Hailed as one of the best post-apocalyptic films of our times, 28 Days Later has served as an inspiration for many a film set in the genre. Murphy starred as Jim, a bicycle courier who wakes up 28 days after the outbreak from a coma and must deal with the complete societal collapse that the virus has left in its wake.
Murphy reported that he had shown his kids the film too, with how brilliant it is. The actor, speaking to Variety, stated:
“I never watch my own films, except that one. It’s always on around Halloween and during the pandemic people were constantly sending me clips. And I’ve shown it to my kids. And it’s really stood up, even though it’s something like 23 years old now.”
The actor is set to return to collaborate with the crew of 28 Days Later to make a third film in the franchise, 28 Years Later. Murphy clearly has a close relationship with the IP and must be thrilled to have the opportunity to make another one.
Cillian Murphy was able to give himself a fair shot
Cillian Murphy expected himself to be hypercritical of himself when he first sat down to view the film. But since he was an executive producer on Peaky Blinders, the actor had to be part of the cutting room, having to make peace with looking at himself and being objective about it. Regarding his viewing of the film, he said:
“I was not as hypercritical as I anticipated I would be. I’ve gotten better at it because I exec produced the last three seasons of “Peaky,” so I was very involved in all of that, the cutting and the editing, and then producing “Small Things.” So you have to get over yourself and watch it and just watch it in a very objective, clinical way, just looking for stories beats. So that’s been very educational for me recently, and I’ve enjoyed that.”
Cillian Murphy is someone who understands his craft pretty well, and it is expected that he would put any sort of self-criticism aside, and be able to view his own work from an objective point of view. However, it also gives him a chance to look at his own work and improve upon it, something most brilliant actors do throughout their careers.
