"Had done the play": When Peaky Blinders icon Cillian Murphy shared key details about his "most iconic roles"

In 2019, Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy did an exciting segment with GQ Magazine, breaking down his 'most iconic roles' on the small and big screen. The Academy, BAFTA and Golden Globe Awards-winning actor reflected on his decades-spanning career and the roles that still define him as an actor.

Only seasoned Cillian Murphy fans might know this fact, but the Irish actor started his professional career with Enda Walsh's 1996 play Disco Pigs. Murphy played the lead character of Darren/"Pig" in this Irish coming-of-age romantic play, which was eventually adapted into a 2001 movie by Walsh.

While Murphy has professionally acted in many movies before Disco Pigs, he still considers Darren's character as his first professional role. Starting the segment with GQ, the Peaky Blinders star said:

''I had done the play, Disco Pigs. That was my first ever job, and then three years later, they made a movie of the play, and I play that character, and it wasn't the first film I'd done, but it was the first film I did, I suppose, that people took any notice of, and I have a lot of affection for that character because it was the first role I ever played professionally.''

While Disco Pigs was just the tip of the iceberg, Murphy went on to star in projects like the Batman trilogy, Red Eye, The Wind that Shakes the Barley, Breakfast on Pluto, Peaky Blinders and many more.

Here is a round-up of Cillian Murphy's most iconic roles.

When Peaky Blinders icon Cillian Murphy discussed his "most iconic roles" with GQ

While Cillian Murphy fondly remembers his first professional role in Disco Pigs, the Peaky Blinders star got his first break in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, where he played the character of Scarecrow/ Dr. Jonathan Crane in Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises.

Murphy expresses his fondness for Nolan's work, especially in Memento, and how the character was a turning point in his career. Much to his surprise, the partnership between Murphy and Nolan continued and he played the character of Robert Fischer in Nolan's 2010 Oscar-winning sci-fi movie Inception.

Peaky Blinders star recalled his experience of reading the film's script for the first time:

''Chris called me up and said that there was a role in the script and he sent me the script and I read it this time. It was a challenging read, you know, it was one of those scripts you had to read several times to figure out the sort of vernacular of it, and it was challenging making it because just trying to figure out where you were all the time in the structure of the piece, but Chris had been living with that story.''

Cillian Murphy praised Nolan's imagination and the structure of the story, fondly recalling his time with co-stars Tom Hardy and Leonardo DiCaprio.

While Murphy continued to star in impressive projects like Dunkirk, A Quiet Place Part II and 28 Days Later, the breakthrough role of his career came with Steven Knight's 2013 crime series Peaky Blinders. Murphy played Tommy Shelby, the titular gang's leader and the patriarch of his Shelby family in 1920 Birmingham.

Murphy went on to explain the creative process of bringing Tommy Shelby and the show to life, which became a Global phenomenon in pop culture:

''It's a highly, it's highly stylized and heightened. You know, the whole sort of look of the show, costumes and the haircut and the caps and the music, it's had a life of its own and people identify with it.''

Cillian Murphy believed that he was done with his Tommy Shelby role after six seasons of the crime drama series but his fans were not done with the Shelbys yet. Four years after its conclusion, the actor will return as the ruthless gang leader in the upcoming sequel movie, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, scheduled for an early 2026 release.

It is only a testament to Cillian Murphy's acting caliber that unbeknownst to him, his 'most iconic role' was yet to come. While Murphy was rounding up his iconic roles with GQ, the world was gearing up to witness him as J. Robert Oppenheimer in Nolan's 2023 epic biographical film Oppenheimer. The world witnessed Cillian Murphy's talent once again and he finally won the Academy Award for Best Actor.

In addition to these high-profile projects, Cillian Murphy has also starred in many Indie films recently, namely Small Things Like These and Netflix's Steve, proving that he truly admires his profession and craft.

The world is anticipating Murphy's return as Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man and Jim in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.

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