--- description: Learn about Irish actor Cillian Murphy, who won Best Actor for his role in Oppenheimer at the 2024 Oscars. title: Everything to Know About Oscar Nominee Cillian Murphy image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1060a522ab70f6cf/698a493e86f68e05206f3bf6/GettyImages-615030208.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [awards](/tag/awards/) ## awards Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Everything to Know About Best Actor Oscar Winner Cillian Murphy by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Jan 19, 2026 1:37 PM CUTPublished: Mar 9, 2024 7:51 PM CUT  Oscars 2024: All eyes are on Cillian Murphy, recognized for his lead turn in Oppenheimer. Here's what to know about the Irish actor, pictured here at a London film event. Oscars 2024: All eyes are on Cillian Murphy, recognized for his lead turn in Oppenheimer. Here's what to know about the Irish actor, pictured here at a London film event.John Phillips—Getty Images by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Jan 19, 2026 1:37 PM CUTPublished: Mar 9, 2024 7:51 PM CUT Anticipation was high for [the 2024 Oscars,](https://time.com/6696826/oscars-2024-what-to-know/ "undefined") which took place Sunday, March 10—especially for the prospects of the most nominated film, Christopher Nolan’s [_Oppenheimer_](https://time.com/6295742/oppenheimer-review/ "undefined"), and its lead, Cillian Murphy. After [sweeping up a number of awards](https://time.com/6696359/bafta-2024-winners-oppenheimer-cillian-muprhy-christopher-nolan-emma-stone/ "undefined") this season, Murphy won Best Actor for his performance as [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,860615-2,00.html "undefined") in the biopic about the creator of the atomic bomb. The role has vaulted 47-year-old Murphy, a fixture in Nolan films and a household name in the U.K. and his native Ireland, into Hollywood stardom. Here’s how Murphy got there and everything you need to know about the Oscar winner. ## What is Cillian Murphy’s background? Murphy [was born in Douglas](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/jul/08/cillian-murphy-oppenheimer-christopher-nolan-florence-pugh "undefined"), a suburb of the city of Cork, Ireland, as the eldest of four. His father was a civil servant and his mother was a French teacher. Murphy attended an all-boys private school then enrolled at University College Cork to study law, but failed his first year exams, because, as he said, “I had no ambitions to do it,” [Irish national broadcaster RTE](https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2024/0309/1435505-cillian-murphy-from-disco-pigs-to-possible-oscar-glory/#:~:text=It%20was%201996%20and%20a,no%20ambitions%20to%20do%20it%22. "undefined") reported. ## Does Cillian Murphy have a wife and family? Murphy has been married since 2004 to Irish visual artist Yvonne McGuinness. They [met at one of his former band](https://www.hellomagazine.com/healthandbeauty/mother-and-baby/497124/peaky-blinders-cillian-murphy-wife-home-unique-living-family-children/ "undefined")’s shows in 1996\. Murphy played guitar in a Frank Zappa-inspired acid jazz band, “[The Sons of Mr Green Genes](https://www.irishstar.com/culture/entertainment/young-cillian-murphy-rocks-out-30561876 "undefined").” The couple has two teenage sons, and moved the family after 14 years in London back to Ireland in 2015. “We wanted the kids to be Irish, and they were sort of at that age where they were preteens and they had very posh English accents and I wasn’t appreciating that too much,” Murphy teased during an appearance on Dax Shepard’s[ _Armchair Expert_ podcast](https://armchairexpertpod.com/pods/cillian-murphy "undefined"). Elsewhere, Murphy [told _GQ_](https://www.gq.com/story/cillian-murphy-profile "undefined") that a work-life balance “is hard. I have an amazing wife and I couldn't do this without her and her understanding. But it is a struggle. I think it is for any dad whose work takes him away, which it generally does, and which consumes him, which my work does.” ## Cillian Murphy has an impressive TV and movies roster After music didn’t work out for him, Murphy pursued acting. In 1996, when 19, the then-unknown actor was cast as the co-lead in a play by Irish playwright Enda Walsh called _Disco Pigs_. The show was a touring success and led to a movie adaptation in 2001, with the story becoming a local coming-of-age classic. Murphy got his big screen break in Danny Boyle’s _28 Days Later,_ a 2002 British zombie thriller that was a surprise success. The role is what led to Nolan noticing Murphy, [_GQ_ reported.](https://www.gq.com/story/cillian-murphy-profile "undefined") Nolan [told Deadline](https://deadline.com/2024/02/oppenheimer-christopher-nolan-cillian-murphy-interview-1235829241/ "undefined") that he first spotted Murphy in a newspaper photo for his role in _28 Days Later_—and was struck by Murphy’s arresting bright blue eyes and presence. Nolan said he then watched the film and invited Murphy to audition for Batman in 2005's _Batman Begins._ The role ultimately went to Christian Bale, but Murphy instead scored the part of the villain Dr. Jonathan Crane, the “Scarecrow.” Murphy went on to join Nolan for two more _Batman_ films, along with _Inception, Dunkirk_ and finally _Oppenheimer._ Murphy’s most famous role in the U.K. and Ireland was as gangster Tommy Shelby on the TV series _Peaky Blinders_, which was originated by the BBC and then acquired by Netflix. The show ran from 2013 to 2022\. Murphy won [multiple awards](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0614165/awards/ "undefined") in the U.K. and Ireland for his performance. ## How much was Cillian Murphy paid for _Oppenheimer?_ [Multiple reports say](https://virginradio.co.uk/entertainment/115742/how-much-did-cillian-murphy-earn-for-oppenheimer "undefined") Murphy made $10 million from the film, although that amount is unconfirmed. Murphy [told _GQ_](https://www.gq.com/story/cillian-murphy-profile "undefined") in 2019 that he is uncomfortable with the scale of his pay as an actor. “I'm really lucky. I feel embarrassed by it sometimes,” he said. “I struggle with that. I mean, actors are overpaid, you know? It's nice when you get paid, when you're young, and you've gone from having no money, but the Catholic guilt kicks in immediately, and I’m like—it's all going to go wrong. You don't deserve this. And I don’t.” ## He is known to shun the limelight Murphy has spoken about how he doesn’t relish the attention that comes with stardom. “Fame is like commuting,” he told [_Rolling Stone_](https://www.rollingstone.co.uk/film/features/the-quiet-passion-of-cillian-murphy-peaky-blinders-oppenheimer-29064/ "undefined")_._ “You have to commute to get to your destination.” “I don’t go out. I’m just at home mostly, or with my friends, unless I have a film to promote. I don’t like being photographed by people. I find that offensive,” he said. ## Cillian Murphy has pursued Irish passion projects and has a love of the stage Murphy has acted in smaller films along the way, including starring in and producing 2024’s [_Small Things Like These_](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/feb/16/small-things-like-these-review-magdalene-laundries-cillian-murphy "undefined")_,_ an adaption of an Irish novella that sheds light on the [Magdalene Laundries](http://jfmresearch.com/home/preserving-magdalene-history/about-the-magdalene-laundries/ "undefined")—workhouses for unwed mothers and other vulnerable women run by four Catholic orders in Ireland until 1996\. The film reunited Murphy with his _Disco Pigs_ co-star, Irish actor Eileen Walsh. Ever since his stage debut as a teenager, Murphy has [continued to act](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/gallery/2019/mar/15/cillian-murphy-on-stage-peaky-blinders-grief-is-the-thing-with-feathers-in-pictures "undefined") in theater. In 2019, he starred in [_Grief Is the Thing With Feathers_](https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2019/event/wayward-productions-grief-is-the-thing-with-feathers "undefined"), the adaptation of a novel by the same playwright who wrote the show where he got his start. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6899271/cillian-murphy-wife-family-movies-tv-oppenheimer-oscar/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6899271/cillian-murphy-wife-family-movies-tv-oppenheimer-oscar/"},"headline":"Everything to Know About Best Actor Oscar Winner Cillian Murphy","datePublished":"2024-03-09T19:51:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-01-19T13:37:17.000Z","description":"Murphy, who played J. Robert Oppenheimer in the biopic about the creator of the atomic bomb, won Best Actor.","url":"https://time.com/6899271/cillian-murphy-wife-family-movies-tv-oppenheimer-oscar/","keywords":["awards","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1060a522ab70f6cf/698a493e86f68e05206f3bf6/GettyImages-615030208.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1060a522ab70f6cf/698a493e86f68e05206f3bf6/GettyImages-615030208.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"'Free Fire' - Closing Night Gala - 60th BFI London Film Festival","caption":"'Free Fire' - Closing Night Gala - 60th BFI London Film Festival","creditText":"John Phillips—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/awards/","name":"awards"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6899271/cillian-murphy-wife-family-movies-tv-oppenheimer-oscar/","name":"Everything to Know About Best Actor Oscar Winner Cillian Murphy"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"'Oppenheimer' Stars, Director on Creating the \"Dramatic\" Story for Upcoming Film","description":"Christopher Nolan, Cillian Murphy, Florence Pugh, Emily Blunt and Matt Damon on creating the \"dramatic\" story for upcoming film.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/mJyCg4Cf/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2023-07-19T20:27:06.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/mJyCg4Cf.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/6899271/cillian-murphy-wife-family-movies-tv-oppenheimer-oscar/","duration":"PT1M38S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/6899271/cillian-murphy-wife-family-movies-tv-oppenheimer-oscar/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```