Where did you see Cillian Murphy before 'Oppenheimer'?

Cillian Murphy's role in 'Oppenheimer', Christopher Nolan's acclaimed film, as the 'father of the atomic bomb', is the icing on the cake of his successful career. He even added an Oscar for Best Actor to the many awards he has already won for the role.

The enormous acting ability of the Irish actor, born in Cork on May 25, 1976, has already been evident in his filmography. His career in the industry began in the late 90s but made his definitive leap to stardom in 2005, as the bad guy in 'Batman Begins', directed precisely by the same director as 'Oppenheimer' - Christopher Nolan.

But let's look back to the late 1990s when Cillian Murphy began his journey into both the world of film and theater. He was discovered in his first theatrical performance - in his college days - starring in the play 'Disco Pigs'.

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After participating in the short film 'Quando' (1997), he debuted as a television actor with 'The Tale of Sweety Barrett' (1998) to then, only a year later, do the same on the big screen with two productions: 'Sunburn' - his first film... And finally a lead role with 'The Trench', alongside Daniel Craig and Paul Nicholls.

During those early years he got off to a strong start and worked on numerous short films, helping him to gain momentum in his career: 'Eviction' and 'At Death's Door', from 1999; and 'Filleann an Feall' and 'A Man of Few Words', from 2000, are good examples of this.

In 2001 fate would have a funny turn. The play that opened the doors to work as an actor, became a movie. With Irish director Kirsten Sheridan and actress Elaine Cassidy, Murphy reprised his old leading role in the film adaptation of 'Disco Pigs'.

From then on, Cillian Murphy started to get roles in important films, among those, that of Jim in '28 Days Later'; but also that of Pieter in 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' and Bardolph in 'Cold Mountain' - all of them played in a prolific year 2003.

But it would be in 2005 with the role of Jonathan Crane, AKA the Scarecrow, in 'Batman Begins', that Cillian Murphy began to be recognized by critics and the general public. In his first role under the orders of Christopher Nolan.

Interesting fact: in the casting for the iconic DC superhero movie, Murphy was asked to try his luck to play Bruce Wayne, but his physique did not meet what the character required. Nolan, however, was impressed by his audition and ended up offering him the role of the bad guy. Quite a success...

Murphy ended up appearing in Nolan's Batman trilogy in all of the instalments, making a cameo in 'The Dark Knight', 2008; and in 'The Dark Knight Rises', 2012.

During the years up until 2013, the actor worked on other films such as 'The Wind That Shakes the Barley'; 'Sunshine'; 'Inception' and 'Red Lights'.

In 2013, Thomas Shelby, the main character of the hit Netflix series 'Peaky Blinders', came into Cillian Murphy's life. It was a real phenomenon around the world that ended up taking him to the top.

Image: BBC / Netflix

The actor swapped cinema for television to get into the skin of this criminal leader of Birmingham in the early twentieth century.

Thomas Shelby's character portrays a British veteran of the First World War who belongs to a family of gypsies settled in the English city of Birmingham. They came to form a gang of gangsters named precisely like the series: the Peaky Blinders.

Image: BBC / Netflix

This series has not only been a resounding success in itself, but also for Cillian Murphy's own career, who, thanks to his magnificent performance, has won an Irish Film and Television Award and a National Television Award, as well as being nominated for a BAFTA.

And, as with Batman, his landing in 'Peaky Blinders' comes with its own particular anecdote. Murphy was not originally put down for the lead role, so we might never have seen him as Thomas Shelby...

However, the actor convinced series creator Steven Knight - via a text message! He wrote "Remember, I'm an actor," as Murphy later told SlashFilm.

During his years as Thomas Shelby, he has also been able to work on the big screen, with films such as 'Aloft'; 'In the Heart of the Sea'; 'Anthropoid'; 'The Party'; 'Dunkirk'; and 'A Quiet Place Part II'.

He also appeared in other work on television, putting only his voice to be the narrator of several documentaries such as 'Atlantic: The Wildest Ocean on Earth' (2015), for the BBC; 'The Irish Revolution' (2019); and 'Fight for First: Excel Esports' (2020), also for the British national network.

The actor has not abandoned the world of theater during all these years and since he started working in film and television, he has performed in plays such as 'The Playboy of the Western World' (2004), 'Love Song' (2007), 'Misterman' (2011-2012), 'Ballyturk' (2014) and 'Grief is the Thing with Feathers' (2018-2019).

As for awards, in addition to the two he got for his role as Thomas Shelby, he has as many others achieved for Irish cinema. He received the Irish Film and Television Award for his work in 'Breakfast on Pluto' (2007) and the award for best actor in theater at the Irish Times Theatre Award in 2012 for his work in 'Misterman'.

Cillian Murphy could potentially be getting the 'big' award for his tremendous performance in 'Oppenheimer'. What he certainly does not lack is worldwide recognition for a career that, now approaching 50, seems to have no limits.

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