Cillian Murphy has had a memorable 2023 with his standout performance as the titular protagonist in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. The Irish actor’s powerful and involved portrayal of a 20th century visionary has already earned him a well-deserved Golden Globe while the film has been taking all the top honors in the awards season.
With the BAFTA awards and the Oscars approaching, Murphy has turned his attention to a project that has been close to his heart. His film Small Things Like These just opened at the Berlinale in Germany. The film is bankrolled by the actor’s own production company along with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s Artists Equity. In an interview before leaving for the festival, Murphy expressed his admiration for Damon and Affleck and why he felt that it was a pleasure to work with them.
Why Cillian Murphy Thinks Highly Of Matt Damon And Ben Affleck
Amidst a chaotic schedule and a packed calendar for the last few months thanks to the huge success of Oppenheimer, Cillian Murphy has continued to nurture his roots through other projects close to his heart. The Dunkirk star is currently in Germany for the popular Berlinale film festival where his film Small Things Like These will premier. The movie set in Ireland sees Murphy playing a coal delivery driver and a father who discovers disturbing occurrences at the local convent.
Apart from playing the central lead, the Golden Globe winner has produced the film under his banner Big Things Films. Additionally, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have also stepped in as producers with their company Artists Equity. In an interview with Variety before his departure to the festival, Murphy elaborated on how a chance interaction with Damon on the Oppenheimer sets led to this association. He was effusive in his praise for the two friends and explained why they were so successful as producers.
“Damon and Affleck were starting their studio, for want of a better word, and we sent them the script and they loved it. And they were such fantastic partners, because they really let us make the film that we wanted to make, which you’d expect given they’re filmmakers themselves”.
Based on the Booker Prize-nominated novel by Claire Keegan, Small Things Like These is the first film to come out of Murphy’s production company which he started with producer Alan Maloney. With the freedom offered by Damon and Affleck to explore the aspects of cinema, the film is already looking to receive positive responses.
The Story Behind Cillian Murphy’s Role In Inception
While Cillian Murphy has been a Christopher Nolan favorite over the years, the actor’s first central lead in a Nolan film was in Oppenheimer. Despite being offered bigger parts, the Irish star has had the reputation of always judging a role by its quality and never by its length. This pristine attitude towards acting was evident with his presence in Inception.
When assembling the cast for the film, Nolan reportedly gave Murphy the luxury of reading the whole script and choosing the character he wanted to play. Despite the privilege offered and the opportunity to choose any prominent role, the actor proved that he regarded art above all else by picking a role of much less significance because he felt it was the right character for him.
According to a trivia piece on Inception in What Culture, the star chose to play Robert Michael Fischer who spends most part of the film being unconscious instead of picking one of the main roles. This seemingly insignificant part is still talked about, proving the actor’s theory of quality over quantity. Through his honest and objective decision, Murphy staked his claim as a true cinephile and an actor with integrity.
Small Things Like These premiered on February 15th at the Berlinale.
