Cillian Murphy Biography

Cillian Murphy (born May 25, 1976 in Douglas, Cork, Ireland) is an Irish actor and musician. Cillian is an Irish name and is also sometimes incorrectly spelled Killian; both spell.
Murphy attended the Presentation Brothers College in Cork, and later studied law at University College Cork (UCC). Initially his interest in performing was led by music. He played guitar with a Frank Zappa influenced band called Sons of Mr. Greengenes. However, by the time he left college his primary interest was acting. His first major role was in the UCC Drama Society production of Observe The Sons of Ulster Marching Towards The Somme. He went on to appear on stage in Disco Pigs.
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After touring with Disco Pigs in London, Edinburgh and Cork, he left UCC without graduating.

Career

Disco Pigs was Murphy's first big break. He was cast in the central role of Pig in Corcadorca's 1996 production of Enda Walsh's original play. He later reprised that role for the 2001 feature film version by Kirsten Sheridan. Also, he wrote and sang the song So New for the soundtrack. However, it wasn't until Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later became 2003's sleeper hit in the USA that the bigger studios and directors started to take notice.

In recent years he has had smaller parts in such Hollywood films as Girl with a Pearl Earring and Cold Mountain. 2005 was the year that brought Murphy into more reknown with his acclaimed performance as Dr. Jonathan Crane (aka The Scarecrow) in Batman Begins and for his role as the terrorist, Jackson Rippner, in Red Eye, co-starring Rachel McAdams as his would-be victim.

Cillian Murphy as Patrick "Kitten" Brady from Neil Jordan's Breakfast on PlutoHe originally auditioned for the role of Bruce Wayne and Batman in Batman Begins. Christopher Nolan was reportedly impressed with his audition; while he decided to give Christian Bale the lead role, he persuaded Murphy to play Dr. Jonathan Crane (aka The Scarecrow).

Currently, he stars in the movie Breakfast on Pluto, based on the novel of the same title by Patrick McCabe. He has received outstanding reviews, and he is nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actor in Musical and Comedy in this movie.

Personal life

Murphy married his long term girlfriend, Irish-born Yvonne McGuinness (b. 1972), in August 2004 in Provence, France. They recently had a son, Malachy Murphy and they currently reside in London, England.

According to Entertainment Weekly magazine, he is currently at #3 of The Most Valuable Players of Summer 2005, a list for entertainers who have breaktrough outstanding performances for the year 2005. He was placed behind Terrence Howard and Matt Dillon. The magazine went on to compare him with Robert Mitchum.

CILLIAN MURPHY PICTURES

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CILLIAN MURPHY BIOGRAPHY