This prolific actor is finally getting the praise he deserves! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for Cillian Murphy’s best big-screen performances.
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00:00 "All minds have to see the whole task to contribute efficiently.
00:03 Poor security may cost us the race, inefficiency will."
00:06 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks
00:10 for Cillian Murphy's best big screen performances.
00:12 "Tell us what it is."
00:14 "I don't know."
00:16 Number 10. Breakfast on Pluto.
00:21 This film was released at a time before trans actors were more prominently cast in trans roles,
00:26 but that doesn't take away from the fact that Cillian Murphy excels at conveying genuine
00:30 struggle and intimate sensitivity.
00:32 "So if you can think of anything that would help us to help you, well..."
00:35 "Well, there is one thing, father."
00:42 In Breakfast on Pluto, he disappears into the role of a transgender woman grappling
00:47 with several complicated layers of identity.
00:49 An outcast from a young age, Kitten Brayden's life is difficult and dangerous,
00:54 and Murphy pours his heart into every unexpected emotional beat.
00:58 "Oh, I do. I know, won't I? I know you're only joking with the horses.
01:04 And sweets too, probably."
01:06 "It was nice when it lasted."
01:14 To prepare for the role, this chameleonic actor observed women and spent time with
01:18 a drag performer to get to the heart of Kitten's character.
01:21 And his commitment to the role shines through with every gesture and nuanced vocal inflection.
01:26 Murphy earned an Irish Film and Television Academy Award and Golden Globe nomination
01:30 for his efforts, and even a few frames of the film are enough to show you why.
01:35 "I'm sorry to interrupt, but are you all right, miss?"
01:40 "Yes, thank you. Just tired after my hard day's work."
01:49 Number 9. Red Eye
01:50 If you love Wes Craven movies, Red Eye has everything you could want from a fun thriller.
01:56 It also has one of the most sinister performances from Cillian Murphy.
02:00 "So you're on this, uh…"
02:01 "Very delayed flight to Miami."
02:03 "Yeah."
02:04 "You?"
02:04 "Yeah. Sadly, yeah."
02:06 He plays a villain that traps Rachel McAdams' hero in her airplane seat,
02:10 forcing her to do his bidding.
02:12 This claustrophobic film pits two talented stars against each other.
02:16 "No, no, I don't think I don't have to do that."
02:18 "Yes, you do if you want your dad to live."
02:20 "What did you say?"
02:25 "You heard me."
02:26 Murphy in particular lights up the screen as an unpredictable force of nature.
02:30 While he's charming at the start, he gradually reveals his true nature in a dynamic role.
02:36 You can tell that he is enjoying playing such an unexpected part in a quality genre movie.
02:41 "You have my sympathy, but for the sake of time and sanity,
02:45 let's break this down into a little male-driven fact-based logic.
02:49 One simple phone call saves your dad's life, and it has to be made soon."
02:55 Number 8. A Quiet Place Part II
02:57 Without being able to use lots of dialogue,
03:00 Cillian Murphy has to evoke most of Emmett's emotions with his face.
03:04 "People that are left, what they've become."
03:07 "You don't know, do you?"
03:12 "I do."
03:16 Luckily for this performer, he's supremely gifted in drawing the audience in with just a look.
03:22 This suspenseful film has the actor trying to stay alive and contemplating helping others.
03:28 He manages to find chemistry with all of his co-stars,
03:31 all while being a believable survivor of a traumatic event.
03:34 "I'm taking you back.
03:40 They heard the shot, okay?"
03:48 The character also allows Murphy to save the day in satisfying scenes.
03:54 You can read the subtext behind his eyes,
03:56 making sure that even this supporting role comes off like a three-dimensional human.
04:01 Number 7. Dunkirk
04:04 As a grizzled survivor, Cillian Murphy plays an essential role in Dunkirk.
04:09 "Where are we going?"
04:10 "Dunkirk."
04:12 "No, no, no, we're going to England."
04:16 "We have to go to Dunkirk first."
04:20 "I'm not going back."
04:23 "You're not going back?"
04:25 "No, I'm not going back."
04:27 "You're not going back?"
04:29 "I'm not going back."
04:31 Whether or not his character has PTSD, Murphy gives the veteran a realistic angle.
04:37 It's not a one-note part either, as his decisions end up costing someone else their life.
04:42 Emotions run high as the soldier reels from his experiences
04:45 and contemplates his own actions during a crisis.
04:48 "Is he alright? The boy?"
04:50 "No. No, he's not."
04:55 The actor ultimately gives this material an edge that might otherwise have not been there.
05:00 Anybody can pretend to be an ordinary hero,
05:02 but this performer explores the humanity of a person who's somewhat broken inside.
05:07 "Will you be okay? The boy?"
05:10 "Yeah."
05:18 Number 6. Sunshine
05:21 When a team of astronauts tries to reignite the sun,
05:24 they run into some unforeseen complications.
05:27 Cillian Murphy plays the physicist Robert Capa
05:30 that tries to juggle the mission with the crew's growing resentments.
05:33 "You have to come down on one side or the other. I need a decision."
05:37 "It's not a decision, it's a guess.
05:39 It's like flipping a coin and asking me to decide about whether it'll be heads or tails."
05:44 "And?"
05:46 "Heads."
05:49 The performance finds the actor in an introspective part
05:52 that's full of deep philosophical questions.
05:55 Murphy plays well opposite a stellar international cast,
05:58 making every moment count in some dramatic confrontations.
06:01 "Capa, I order you to remove that suit.
06:03 Get out of the suit!
06:08 That is a direct order."
06:14 The tension grows as the character struggles to survive and reach his destination.
06:20 With a layered story around him,
06:22 the gifted performer digs deep to deliver an intriguing role
06:25 that's both intellectual and physical.
06:27 "Capa?"
06:28 "Yes?"
06:30 "You are dying. All crew are dying."
06:34 "We know we're dying.
06:34 As long as we can live long enough to deliver the payload,
06:39 we're okay with that."
06:41 Number 5. The Dark Knight Trilogy
06:43 When Christopher Nolan rebooted Batman,
06:46 few people expected the result to be a critically acclaimed franchise.
06:50 This includes some more grounded and terrifying villains,
06:54 such as an inventive take on Scarecrow.
06:56 "Dr. Crane?"
06:57 "No, I'm Ms. Dulles."
06:59 "You really think a man who butchers people for the mob doesn't belong in jail?"
07:02 "I would hardly have testified to that otherwise, would I, Ms. Dulles?"
07:05 "This is the third of Carmine Falcone's thugs you've had declared insane
07:08 and moved into your asylum."
07:10 Cillian Murphy becomes Dr. Jonathan Crane,
07:13 sinking his teeth into the role of an evil psychopharmacologist.
07:17 The creepy antagonist uses gas to give people hallucinations
07:20 that prey on their worst fears.
07:22 "Would you like to see my mask?
07:23 I use it in my experiments.
07:26 I'm probably not very frightening to a guy like you
07:33 with these crazies.
07:35 You can't stand it."
07:37 Murphy's demeanor completely shifts while he's in the mask,
07:40 giving arguably his most devilishly fun performance to date.
07:44 The character makes appearances in both sequels in brief but enjoyable cameos.
07:48 "Your guilt has been determined.
07:50 This is merely a sentencing hearing.
07:52 Now what will it be?
07:53 Death or exile?"
07:57 Embracing the more terrifying aspects of the part,
08:00 the actor never fails to stir up nightmares while playing Crane.
08:04 Number 4.
08:06 28 Days Later
08:07 While he had acted before this film,
08:10 28 Days Later marked a major turning point for Cillian Murphy as a screen actor.
08:14 His performance here as a man waking up from a coma
08:24 manages to be both realistic and compelling.
08:27 Discovering a new world ravaged by infected people,
08:30 Jim comes across other survivors while trying to cope
08:33 with the post-apocalyptic setting.
08:35 Murphy has an everyman quality here that makes viewers feel
08:38 for his character even more.
08:40 "I was wrong when I said that staying alive is as good as it gets."
08:42 "You see, that's what I was thinking."
08:49 "Was it?"
08:51 "You stole my thought."
08:54 While other genre movies might have schlocky acting,
08:58 this zombie tale allows for the entire cast to play out scenarios
09:02 as if they're really life or death.
09:04 The gritty role finds the lead performer in a star-making turn,
09:08 unafraid to give audiences a more complicated hero.
09:10 "I just hope it's for-"
09:13 "The answer to infection."
09:15 "Yeah."
09:18 "Well, as I said before, it's here.
09:21 Though it may not be quite what you imagined."
09:24 "Just feel very lucky to have found you."
09:26 Number 3.
09:27 Inception
09:28 The most underrated aspect of Inception might very well be
09:32 Cillian Murphy's performance as Robert Fisher Jr.
09:34 "You're talking about dreams?
09:37 You're talking about, um, extraction?"
09:39 "I am here to protect you."
09:42 He has to play a wealthy businessman who's being duped by some sophisticated thieves.
09:47 It's an integral role that captures all the fears, hopes, and faults of an imperfect man.
09:53 Having a bad relationship with his dying father,
09:56 Fisher finally has to confront his fears in a climactic scene.
09:59 "I know you were disappointed.
10:01 I couldn't be you."
10:03 "No.
10:04 No, no."
10:07 "I was disappointed.
10:09 I just tried."
10:13 Murphy steals the show in the moment when his character finally breaks down.
10:18 In a film full of incredible action,
10:20 this somber scene feels like a dramatic high point thanks to this key supporting work.
10:25 Number 2.
10:35 The Wind That Shakes the Barley
10:37 Set in 1920s Ireland, this award-winning drama follows the lives of the O'Donovan brothers
10:42 through a tumultuous time in Irish history.
10:45 "How many British soldiers in the country, Tim?"
10:47 "Too many."
10:48 "How many?"
10:49 "There's about 10,000, Damien."
10:50 "10,000? Tans? Artillery units? Machine gun car? Cavalry?"
10:57 "And many more besides. What's your point, Damien?"
11:00 Cillian Murphy plays one of them named Damien, who sees the horrors of UK occupation.
11:05 Becoming a revolutionary, the actor gives an authentic and emotionally devastating performance.
11:11 The Irish Civil War eventually tears the siblings apart as they find themselves on opposite sides.
11:16 "If we ratify this treaty, we will destroy the two most precious gifts that we won with
11:22 this last election. One being a mandate for complete freedom, not a compromise freedom."
11:28 Murphy has the ability to draw you into the historical conflict and keep you on the edge
11:33 of your seat. His brave character makes many sacrifices along the way, giving audiences
11:38 more than a few reasons to cry. It's an under-seen film that won't disappoint the star's fans.
11:44 "Can you tell me, father, how there can be a fair election in this country when the most powerful
11:50 country in the world threatens war? This is not the will of the people, it is the fear of the people."
11:57 "How dare you!"
11:58 Before we unveil our top pick, here are some honorable mentions.
12:02 Free Fire
12:03 Cillian easily becomes the IRA man Chris in a rare comedic role.
12:07 "What do you know? It's all there. On the nose."
12:11 "That's hard to watch."
12:13 "And you can keep the case as well."
12:14 "Yeah, I was going to."
12:17 Disco Pigs
12:18 Murphy plays one half of a powerful and toxic relationship in this coming-of-age film.
12:23 "Okay, rent?"
12:27 "Yeah."
12:27 "You're my life, rent."
12:32 "And you're me."
12:39 On the Edge
12:41 A young Cillian tackles love, mental health, and other activities with friends and fellow
12:46 patients in this indie dramedy.
12:48 "How about a game of table tennis? Can I give you the telephone number of my room?"
12:53 "No."
12:57 "Okay."
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13:14 Number 1. Oppenheimer
13:18 In his most successful film to date, Cillian Murphy takes center stage in a true epic.
13:24 The actor delivers an incredibly nuanced, tragic, and haunting performance as J. Robert Oppenheimer.
13:29 "I thought Berkeley had the leading theoretical physics department."
13:33 "Yes, once I built it. But first I had to go to Europe. I went to Cambridge
13:39 to study under Patrick Blackett."
13:41 "Were you happier there than in America?"
13:42 "Happier."
13:44 Spanning many years in the life of the scientist,
13:47 Murphy finds a way to accurately portray the man's inner and outer conflicts.
13:52 Some of his most powerful scenes find the performer stealing the spotlight
13:55 with a quiet gesture or a stare.
13:57 "It's too soon to... it's too soon to determine what the results of the bombing are."
14:07 Even in a large cast of talented artists,
14:10 the star stands out with a complex exploration of a troubled man.
14:13 Director Christopher Nolan made a perfect casting choice here,
14:17 and allowed his frequent collaborator to shine in a career-defining role.
14:22 "Is that what you really believe? J. Robert Oppenheimer, Sphinx-like guru of the atom.
14:28 Nobody knows what you believe. Do you?"
14:33 Did we forget another standout Murphy film performance?
14:37 Let us know in the comments below.
14:38 "I'm actually just waiting on her, mate. Sorry."
14:41 "Oh, okay. I won't waste any more of your time."
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