Today we offer to learn more about the actor of Irish descent - Killian Murphy. In his native Britain, he became famous after the movie "Disco Pigs." Spectators around the world know him thanks to his roles in a series of paintings about Batman, where he played the villain Crane, as well as his participation in the tapes “Beginning”, “Broken”, “Red Lights” and others.
Killian Murphy Biography
The future Hollywood celebrity was born on May 25, 1976 in the suburbs of the Irish city of Cork. Killian was the eldest of four children in the Murphy family. Both of his parents were engaged in pedagogical activities: his father worked in the Irish Department of Education, and his mother was a French teacher at school. It is interesting that many other relatives of Killian are teachers: grandfather, uncles and aunts. From an early age, Murphy was passionate about music and secretly cherished the dream of someday becoming a real rock star.
The first steps towards an actor’s career
While studying at high school, Killian Murphy accidentally fell into a class conducted by Pat Kearnan, art director of the Cork Theater Company. It was then that the young man realized that his vocation was an acting career. In order not to lose time, 16-year-old Killian leaves his studies and begins to persistently attend auditions at the local Theater Company. One fine day, the persistence of the young man was rewarded, and he was invited to play the role of the Pig in the most popular play at that time in Ireland called "Disco Pigs." The plot told about the fate of two wild teenagers, obsessed with love. The performance was very successful, and also won the first prize at the Dublin Regional Festival. Since Killian played the main role in the production, his brilliant work was appreciated, and both the theater and film makers of Great Britain paid close attention to the novice actor.
Killian Murphy: filmography, film debut
For the first time, a young actor appeared on the screens in 1998 in a cameo role. His debut took place in the film "The History of Sweet Barrett." The next time, Killian was offered the main role in the project of the same 1998 "Sunburn." However, the film did not have much success at the box office, and several more episodic appearances of the actor followed in such films as “In July 1916: The Battle of the Somme”, “At Death”, “The Exile”, “Betrayal Returns”, “A Laconic Man” and "How Harry Turned into a Tree."
In 2001, Murphy appeared on the screens in the title role in the drama "On the Edge", dedicated to the growing problem of the number of suicidal teenagers that became relevant at that time.
First success
In 2001, a picture of Kristen Sheridan titled “Disco Pigs” was released, which became an adaptation of the sensational performance of the same name. The main roles in this project were played by Elaine Cassidy and, in fact, Killian Murphy. The picture was a great success in Europe, and especially in the UK. Local critics claimed that Killian Murphy is an actor who will still make him talk about himself in the near future. As for Russia, here the film was adopted more than unfriendly. The acting game of Murphy and his partners on the set also did not impress Russian film critics at all.
Career continuation
Killian Murphy, whose filmography already consisted of a number of very successful paintings in Europe, remained virtually unknown on the other side of the Atlantic. This situation changed in 2003 when a thriller about Danny Boyle 's zombies titled "28 Days Later" was released. By the way, on the screen, Killian showed not only a great acting game, but also his full-length naked body. Be that as it may, Murphy has gained sufficient fame throughout the world.
Despite the successful debut in Hollywood, the subsequent work of the young actor went almost unnoticed by critics or viewers. So, he took part in the filming of such films as “The Break”, “Cold Mountain” and “Girl with a Pearl Earring”.
Another success
In 2005, Killian auditioned for the lead role in the movie Batman: The Beginning, but Christian Bale got it. Murphy was offered to play the villain Crane. This character was a great success for the actor, thanks to which, after the release of the picture, he got a huge number of new fans of his talent. In the same year, Killian had to fulfill another villainous role in the film “Night Flight”. It is safe to say that Murphy’s game literally saved the film from failure, as its script was, to put it mildly, rather weak. 2005 was surprisingly fruitful for Killian. So, in the same year, another film was released with his participation - “Breakfast on Pluto”. Due to his role in this project, the actor was nominated for the prestigious Golden Globe Award.
Films with Killian Murphy continued to regularly appear on the big screen. So, in 2006, the film “Wind that sways barley” directed by Ken Loach saw the light. In this project, the actor brilliantly played the role of a closed theoretical physicist, who had no less - save our planet from complete freezing. Then followed the work of Murphy in the paintings "Hell" and "Watching detectives."
In 2008, the next movie about Batman called “The Dark Knight” was released, in which the actor again appeared in the familiar role of the villain Crane. True, the appearance of the actor on the screen was episodic, but the audience was happy to see their idol.
Last works
Killian Murphy continues to star actively. From his last works, one can distinguish such films as “Forbidden Love” (2008), “Peacock” (2010), “Beginning” (2010), “Retreat” (2011), “Time” (2011), “Broken” ( 2011), “Red Lights” (2012), the next part of the story about Batman - “The Dark Knight: Revival of a Legend” (2012) and “Sharp Peaks” (2013). In the current year 2014, several films with the participation of the actor are also expected to be released: “Excellence”, “Dali and Me”, “Clash of Persons”. In addition, Killian is currently busy working on the picture “In the Heart of the Sea”, which should appear on the big screen in 2015.
Personal life
Killian Murphy really does not like to talk about his relationship and almost always ignores such questions from journalists. However, it is known that in 2004 he and his longtime girlfriend Yvonne McGuinness officially entered into marriage. Prior to this, their romance lasted about 8 years. Today, Killian Murphy and his wife raise two sons: Malachi (born 2005) and Carrick (born 2007). The whole family resides permanently in London, in the Hampstead area.
Killian Murphy: height, weight and interesting facts about the actor
- The hero of our story today is a vegetarian.
- Killian speaks Gaelic and speaks excellent French, as his mother is a school teacher in this subject.
- The actor is not very attracted to team sport. However, he loves to run and that is how he maintains himself in excellent physical shape.
- Murphy's idol is Liam Neeson, whom he jokingly calls "his surrogate movie father."
- When Killian was a teenager, his main hobby was music. At that time, he played in several groups, the most serious of which can be called The Sons of Mr. Green genes. Murphy played the guitar, sang and wrote songs. In addition, he infected his enthusiastic brother, Paidy, who later also became a member of the group.
- In 1996, one of the record companies even offered Killian and his team a contract. However, the parents did not allow his sons to sign it, because they were afraid of the consequences: after all, their children did not have any experience in the “merciless” music industry. As it turned out, in the end they were right, because the contract deprived the Murphy brothers of all rights to their songs.
- The growth of the actor is 174 centimeters, and weight - 75 kilograms.