Cillian Murphy was intense in Small Things Like These role: 'He was very quiet – simmering'
The Peaky Blinders and Oppenheimer star plays the lead role in the moving new film.
It's no secret that Cillian Murphy brings a great deal of intensity to his performances – especially after his monumental Oscar-winning role in Oppenheimer – and in new film Small Things Like These, the Peaky Blinders star delivers another superb, albeit rather different, performance.
Based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by Claire Keegan, the film stars Murphy as Bill Furlong, a man who runs a small coal business in County Wicklow in the 1980s.
During the film, he begins to reflect on his childhood after uncovering a disturbing secret at a time when the notorious Magdalene Laundries were in operation – leading him down a difficult and conflicting path.
It's a nuanced and typically unshowy performance from Murphy, and according to his co-stars Emily Watson and Eileen Walsh, it was brilliant to watch him at work.
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"When I encountered him on set, he was utterly immersed in Bill Furlong," Watson explained during an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com.
"So he was very, very quiet, like a simmering, you know, unexploded bomb, in a way – didn't really say very much, was utterly in it."
Watson – who plays severe nun Sister Mary – added that "it speaks volumes" about Murphy that this is the kind of film work he's currently interested in pursuing, especially given it is the first film he's been attached to as a producer.
Meanwhile, Walsh, who plays Furlong's wife Eileen in the movie and has known Murphy for 30 years, said it was a joy to watch him encompass his dual roles as producer and star.
"He adored everybody that came on set," she said. "He'd be kind of going, 'Oh, wait till you meet the guy playing... I worked with him 30 years ago.'
"But he's amazing. However tenuous the link, everybody was on set for a reason, and he was also brilliantly able to change hats.
"So they'd shout 'cut', and we'd go and have a quick 10 minute break or whatever to reset... and he would have to take an email or have somebody, you know, ask a producer question or whatever.
"And there was a time and a place for that. He just managed to really stand in his value, I think, throughout it. But he has such a drive for this particular project as well. He's very passionate."
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For his part, Murphy said that he "really enjoyed" his experience as a producer alongside his acting role, although pointed out that his "remit was creative".
He explained: "I wasn't putting together budgets or, you know, tax credits and things like that. That was Alan Moloney, who was the other producer on it.
"But I loved it, and for me, a lot of it was just bringing people together.
"Like, wouldn’t it be great if this person worked with this person [and] this person worked with that person, and seeing what happens when you get really super talented people together. I love that."
Small Things Like These will be released in UK cinemas on Friday 1st November 2024.
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Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
