5 things you probably didn’t know about Cillian Murphy, star of Oppenheimer

Cillian Murphy has established himself as one of the most versatile actors on today’s scene. From his debut in The Tale of Sweety Barrett (1998) to his most famous role on the small screen as Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders, the 47-year old returns to the big screen to star in one of the most anticipated films of the summer: Oppenheimer.

This three-hour feature film is directed by Christopher Nolan and tells the story of the father of the atomic bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer. With the opening weekend proving to be very successful, we thought we’d share some things you probably didn’t know about the actor.

Learn more about Cillian Murphy, star of Oppenheimer

Dropped out of law school

Cillian Murphy was on the brink of becoming a lawyer. A native of Douglas, Ireland, he attended law school at Cork University, however, he dropped out after the first year to pursue his dreams in music and acting.

In fact, after dropping out of school, Murphy joined the rock band A Son of Mr Green Genes, where he sang and played guitar with his brother.

Stopped being vegetarian for his Peaky Blinders role

Before landing his role in 'Peaky Blinders' the actor used to be a vegetarian; however,after 15 years committed to this lifestyle, Murphy had to abandon it, as he was forced to eat meat and protein to gain muscle and be able to give life to the famous Thomas Shelby.

In fact, Murphy has revealed on several occasions that he loves to “act” with his body, so he always pushes his physique to the limit if the role requires it. For Oppenheimer, Cillian had to lose a lot of weight as the theoretical physique's shape required it. “He had a very different physique and shape and I wanted to do it right. I had to lose quite a bit of weight, and we worked on wardrobe and tailoring: He was very thin, almost gaunt, he subsidizes on martinis and cigarettes,” Murphy told The New York Times.

The Murphy-Nolan duo

'Oppenheimer' isn't the first time Cillian Murphy and Christopher Nolan have joined forces, as the actor and filmmaker have worked together for years. In fact, Murphy has shared credits with Nolan six times: The Batman Trilogy (2005, 2008, 2012), Inception (2010), Dunkirk (2017), and Oppenheimer (2023).

Murphy avoids social media

It’s the year 2023 and you’ll be hard pushed to meet anyone who doesn’t keep up-to-date with social media. But our protagonist Mr Murphy is one of these people.

The Irish actor is a rather private man and does not have any profiles on social media platforms. This was perfectly demonstrated a while back, when he was questioned about his own memes in an interview, to which he replied that he had no idea what a meme was.

Cillian’s fortune

Thanks to his burgeoning experience in the film and television industry, Cillian Murphy has amassed a net worth of around $20 million, according to figures from Celebrity Net Worth, a website specializing in celebrity fortunes.