From: Favorite Hunks & Other Things
The stunning Cillian Murphy turns 38 today.
Cillian Murphy /ˈkɪliən/ (born 25 May 1976) is an Irish actor of stage and screen. Since making his debut in his home country in the late 1990s, Murphy has also become a presence in British and American cinema – noted by critics for his performances in a wide range of roles.
A native of Cork, Murphy began his performing career as a rock musician. After turning down a record deal, he made his professional acting debut in the play Disco Pigs in 1996. While continuing with stage work he also began appearing in independent films, first coming to international attention in 2002 as the hero of Danny Boyle's post-apocalyptic film 28 Days Later. Murphy's profile continued to grow in 2005 when he appeared in a series of successful films: firstly as the Scarecrow in Christopher Nolan's 2005 blockbuster Batman Begins – a role he reprises in The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012) – and secondly in the action–thriller Red Eye. For his performance as a transgender woman in Breakfast on Pluto, Murphy received a Golden Globe award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy.
In 2006, Murphy played the lead role in Ken Loach's Palme d'Or-winning film The Wind That Shakes the Barley. He re-teamed with Boyle for the science-fiction film Sunshine (2007), and with Nolan for the highly-successful thriller Inception (2010). In 2013, Murphy played the lead in the BBC gangster series Peaky Blinders. He has continued to work on stage, and won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance for Misterman in 2011. Murphy lives with his wife and two children in London.
In mid-2004, Murphy married his long-time girlfriend, Yvonne McGuinness, an artist whom he had met in 1996 at one of his rock band's shows. The couple live in North West London with their two sons, Malachy (born in 2005) and Carrick (born in 2007). Murphy often works in or near the city and has expressed no desire to move to Hollywood. He prefers not to speak about his personal life, and did not appear on any live TV chat shows until 2010, when he was a guest on The Late Late Show on Ireland's RTÉ to promote Perrier's Bounty yet still remained politely reserved. He does not have a stylist or a personal publicist, travels without an entourage, and often attends premieres alone. Shy and private, Murphy professes a lack of interest in the celebrity scene, finding the red carpet experience "a challenge... and not one I want to overcome". He intentionally practices a lifestyle that will not interest the tabloids: "I haven't created any controversy, I don't sleep around, I don't go and fall down drunk". Murphy is friends with fellow Irish actors Colin Farrell and Liam Neeson, looking up to the latter like a "surrogate movie dad". But primarily, Murphy's close friendships are those he made before becoming a star.
Music is still an important part of Murphy's life. In 2004, he said, "The only extravagant thing about my lifestyle is my stereo system, buying music and going to gigs". He no longer plays in a rock band, but regularly plays music with friends and on his own, and still writes songs. Murphy does not plan to start another band: "Even if I was good, the very notion of being an actor with a rock band on the side would mean I'd never be taken seriously". Murphy is also a dedicated runner.
Regarding religion, Murphy was previously an agnostic but became an atheist after researching his role as a nuclear physicist/astronaut in the science fiction film Sunshine. He is a longtime vegetarian, not due to any moral objection to the killing of animals, but because of qualms about unhealthy agribusiness practices. His political activity includes participating in the 2007 Rock the Vote Ireland campaign, targeting young voters for the general election, and campaigning for the rights of the homeless with the organization Focus Ireland. In February 2012, he wrote a message of support to the former Vita Cortex workers involved in a sit-in at their plant, congratulating them for "highlighting [what] is hugely important to us all as a nation".
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