"Cillian Murphy, who has angelic looks that can turn sinister, is one of the most elegantly seductive monsters in recent movies."—
David Denby,
The New Yorker review of
Red Eye Cillian Murphy is an Irish actor known mostly for three things. First, his chameleon-like ability to adapt to a wide variety of roles and seem to inhabit them. Second, his amazingly
blue eyes, and third, being extremely pretty. He was born on May 25, 1976 and started his career in entertainment as a rock musician. Cillian is a rather private fellow, and he does not normally discuss his personal life in interviews.
A sampling of the films he has been in:
He provides examples of:
- Attractive Bent Gender: When he plays the transgender Kitten in Breakfast on Pluto, he isn't exactly unattractive. At all.
◊ The same goes for his role in Peacock. - Awesome, Dear Boy: His stated reasons for doing Batman Begins include a desire "to be near the Batmobile" and he did his TRON: Legacy cameo because he was a huge fan of the original as a kid.
- Berserk Button: Reportedly, mispronouncing his first name.
- Doing It for the Art: He has said this is the only reason he does many of his films and he almost never does it for Money.
- Dude Looks Like a Lady
- Even the Guys Want Him: Notable example being when the director of Batman Begins tried to find excuses for him to take off his glasses so there could be more screentime for his baby blues.
- From the ostensibly straight reviewer at Ruthless Reviews
:"I listed Murphy last cause I simply have to mention that this guy is too good looking. Look, Christian Bale is a handsome dude, but Murphy (who plays Scarecrow) is fucking gorgeous. I was getting lost in his dreamy eyes, man. Like Holmes, Murphy was way too young for his supposed profession (in this case a psychiatrist); unlike Holmes, he was so good looking that I bought it."
- The author of Cracked.com's 2006 oscars
rundown
thought that he should have won best actress for the following reason: "Not technically a woman in the genitals-sense. But he can act the shit out of Dame Judi Dench, and he's so, so pretty. Your tender eyes make my fluttering heart soar, Cillian. Your gaze is like a rainbow that ends in my pants. Oh Cillian..."
- Fake American: In quite a few of his roles. He does the accent very well, especially considering how notoriously hard the Irish Accent is to shed.
- Hot Dad: Although his kids are still rather young.
- Hypnotic Eyes: People who have made eye contact with him have described it as equivalent to having one's soul frozen in a block of ice.
- No Pronunciation Guide: His name is pronounced Killian. People more familiar with American English frequently think it's Sillian. Or Chillian.
- Older than They Look: He's 35 and a father to boot, but he still looks in his twenties.
- Pretty Boy
- Slasher Smile: He is very striking when he smiles.
- Type Casting: After Batman Begins and Red Eye, he became best-known for being an incredibly creepy villain. He's sworn off playing villains again, though, which is really quite tragic.
- Unkempt Beauty
- Vocal Dissonance: His deep voice doesn't suit his gentle, almost androgynous features.
- Averted in Breakfast on Pluto, where he sounds decidedly female much of the time.
- What Beautiful Eyes: Very much so.
- When He Smiles