‘Performance gene’ catapults Cillian Murphy to stardom

ACTOR Cillian Murphy believes he was born with a “performance gene”.

And the 32-year-old said he has no regrets about turning down a record deal that could have made him a rock star instead of an actor.

Murphy, born in the Cork suburb of Ballintemple, was the winner of a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Rising Star award.

But he has been a subscriber to the “everything happens for a reason” theory ever since a transition-year approach to a Cork theatre company landed him a part in the 1996 play Disco Pigs.

A little more than a decade later and Murphy remains on a roll with his acting career, with The Edge of Love just released and Hippie Hippie Shake due for release next year.

“I used to play jazz/rock music,” Murphy said. “I do believe in a performance gene.

“For me, self-expression involves performance.

“It needed to come out and it did come out initially through music, performing and writing.

“Just by chance it sort of segued into theatre and then film.

“During my transition year in Cork, I had this drama module and was very taken with it.

“I kind of left it alone but, during college, I approached a theatre company in Cork to see if they had any parts. They did and that was it, really.

“You couldn’t have a better platform to start a career on than Disco Pigs, even though I didn’t know I was starting a career.

“It was a real bit of good luck.”

Murphy rarely gets the opportunity to play characters in his native Cork accent — but he’s long since stopped caring.

He has perfected the art of mimicking other accents and is keen to keep practicing.

“Fortunately, I enjoy doing accents,” Murphy said.

“The nature of it is I have to do accents because I’m from Ireland.

“But it can be a nice way into a character.

“It can give you a way in very quickly.

“Yet, it’s very liberating to do characters in my own accent.

“That’s only happened once or twice.”

Married to London- based visual artist Yvonne McGuinness, Murphy loathes publicity.

He insists he doesn’t envy the public intrusion into the private life of English actress Keira Knightley.

“People don’t actually recognise me,” Murphy said.

“They do well to pronounce my name right.

“I’ve seen it [loss of privacy] up close with Keira Knightley (who plays his wife in Edge of Love).

“What she goes through, it’s horrendous, really. It’s not a nice thing to have every day of your life.”

Murphy was tempted to up sticks and move to New York in his 20s, but these days he’s found contentment close to home and can’t see himself leaving.

“I would have liked to have lived in New York for some period of my life,” said Murphy, who is currently in Australia.

“I’d love to do a show there some day.

“But I’m European and I feel Europe is where I need to be.

He added: “I really love New York, but proximity to family is also important to me.”