Cillian Murphy has been iconic in his portrayal of Tommy Shelby in the BBC drama series Peaky Blinders. Despite his stardom, the actor did not shy away from asking his Oppenheimer co-star Matt Damon for help when he wanted to work on a movie.
With Ben Affleck and Matt Damon working together with their production studio, Murphy approached Damon wanting to adapt the 2020 novel Small Things Like These. The novel, which is set in 1985, was a favorite of Cillian Murphy and the actor was quite excited about an adaptation when Matt Damon dropped in to help.
When Matt Damon Helped Cillian Murphy In Producing His Film
While talking about the upcoming magnum opus Oppenheimer, Cillian Murphy talked about his experience in sharing the screen with his co-stars Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. Recalling the exquisite experience, the actor felt grateful to Matt Damon who helped him in producing Murphy’s own movie.
In an interview with The Guardian, Murphy revealed that he has been fascinated with author Claire Keegan’s work and her novel Small Things Like These and her short story Foster. Recalling the time when Matt Damon helped the actor produce his beloved adaptation, Cillian Murphy was grateful that Damon helped him.
“No, there’s no way, That’s going to be gone already’. But when he called the agent, he found it was available. I went, ‘No, you’ve got to be fu*king kidding.’”
The Peaky Blinders actor immediately went to pitch the idea to Matt Damon who has a studio set up with Ben Affleck.
“From there it all just happened really quickly.”
The film that Murphy is eager to release to the world is Claire Keegan’s 2020 novel Small Things Like These. Several details have been given to the audience and a hype has already been created with the audience.
Cillian Murphy Talks About Small Things Like These
With director, Tim Mielants (from Peaky Blinders fame) attached as the director of the film, Murphy has revealed several details of the upcoming film. In a small Irish town, the protagonist Bill Furlong makes a discovery that forces him to reveal some dark secrets of his small town.
Talking about his character and the kind of movies that he loves, the Batman Begins actor stated that he likes those big movies that pose important questions for the audience.
“I’m always trying to cut lines in scenes, because I feel like you can transmit it. Like when you see a person on a train thinking, or driving a car, and you are purely observing someone and feeling the energy that is vibrating from them. That’s the sort of acting I love. In a lot of film and television, they want to cut those bits to go to the action. I like films that pose the big questions and then leave it to the audience.”
Small Things Like These is currently in the production stage of development. As for the Matt Damon and Cillian Murphy starrer, Oppenheimer is set for a release date of 21st July 2023 in theaters across the U.S.
Source: The Guardian
