Cillian Murphy: At the peak of his craft

Cillian Murphy’s new film called for his most extreme physical transformation yet – a rapid 6kg of weight loss, he tells Shilpa Ganatra.

With his distinctive cheekbones and baby blues, it’s a wonder Cillian Murphy remains a convincing shapeshifter on screen. He’s gone from 17th century Danish butcher’s boy (The Girl with a Pearl Earring) to Scarecrow (the Dark Knight trilogy) to an Irish rebel (The Wind That Shakes The Barley), to a trans-woman (Breakfast on Pluto), with the benefit of a mask in only one of these roles. Guess which one.

Yet in new film In the Heart of the Sea, based on the story that inspired Moby Dick, the Cork native’s physical transformation is arguably the most extreme, requiring a rapid 6kg weight loss to turn him into a shipwrecked sailor at the end of his physical limit.

“We were told from the very beginning by Ron [Howard, director] that we were going to lose as much of the weight for real as we could, and everyone was up for that,” Murphy, 39, says, referring to his all-star cast members like Chris Hemsworth, Benjamin Walker and Marvel’s new Spider-Man, Tom Holland.

“But we had to have beards, so we’d put the beards on and lose the cadaverous cheek thing we all had going on. There was nothing we could do about that. Inevitably, the shipwrecked characters would have beards.”

Cillian Murphy in ‘The Heart of the Sea’.

The group starvation diet of 700 calories a day caused a lot of grumpy and tired actors on set in the Canary Islands and (the less exotic) Leavesden Studios, we hear. However, it also forged a bond between them that’s captured on screen.

“Sometimes you go to work, you say your lines, and you go home, and that’s it. But with this, we went through something. We were altered by this experience. I like that; it feels more than going to work, it’s something significant.”

The result of the weight loss (aided on screen with make up and digital effects) is astounding — attested to by Cillian and Chris Hemsworth looking terrible by the end. Who’d have ever thought that would be possible?

The weight-changing role is almost a rite of passage, with the likes of Tom Hanks, Charlize Theron, Matthew McConaughey and Renee Zelwegger deemed serious actors after showing such dedication to their roles. Now that he has the badge of honour, is it something he’d take on again?

“Never say never,” he says, before cracking a rare smile. “I’m looking for the role that allows me to get gently rotund. Like, porky.”

He lets that hang in the air, for his own amusement.

“In all seriousness, there’s no point in doing it just to get attention. With this, there was clearly a reason why we had to do what we did. If the story doesn’t justify it, it’s a load of nonsense. But if the story justifies it, as in this case, of course you have to do it.”

These days, much of his time is spent in Peaky Blinders, the BBC crime-drama about Birmingham’s shady characters in the 20s, in which he plays the lead character of Tommy Shelby.

Having just aired the celebrated second series and filming for a much- anticipated third, Murphy’s time is at a premium. Which begs the question of why he accepted this role above all else. He explains the reasons are twofold. The first being that it was directed by the legendary Ron Howard: “He always gets extraordinary performances from his actors, and that’s the type of director you want to work with.”

(The admiration is mutual; later Ron Howard tells me that Murphy didn’t have to audition for his part as it was it was a done deal).

The other attraction was the nautical adventure itself.

“It’s the sort of film I’d watch with my dad when I was a kid,” he says, recounting his days in Ballintemple before moving to London in 2006.

“We’d watch Mutiny on the Bounty on a Sunday afternoon. It seems old fashioned in the best sense of the words.”

He’s passing the memory down a generation as he explains he’s taking his two sons — Malachy and Carrick — to the In the Heart of the Sea premiere, occurring straight after we meet in London, on a rare day off from Peaky Blinders.

This TV/film-juggling proves once again that Murphy’s career can only be defined by its variation. Lest we forget, he’s a stage regular too, most recently appearing in Enda Walsh’s surreal yet gripping play Ballyturk.

While his dedication to acting in all its forms has earned him respect within the industry, he says that working across platforms is not a calculated move.

“I don’t do anything to progress my career, I just do whatever’s interesting,” he says. “Anyone who starts out doing a job to further their career is doing it for the wrong reasons. It’s always about telling good stories, serving the scripts and working with good directors,” he says.

“I just like to mix it up, and make sure there’s a variety of things that keeps it interesting, and keeps me interested. Then hopefully the audience will be interested,” he says.

Another well-documented way in which Murphy has earned the respect of his peers is by shunning the celebrity lifestyle, the very reason many are attracted to the job. Not only does he avoid ‘surprise’ shopping excursions and Soho nightclubs at 3am, but you won’t even see him on the chat show circuit, often considered a critical way in which to raise the profile of actor and film (my research dug up only two previous appearances).

“You don’t have to do chat shows,” he says. “That’s the thing people don’t realise. You can only do what feels right, and I don’t feel the need to do it. Some people are good at that stuff but here’s a misconception that there’s a need to promote your stuff.”

Does it not aid a film’s performance?

“Of course, yeah.

“But if people realise a film is a good movie, they’ll go and see it. It doesn’t matter how many chat shows you’re on,” he says.

Promo duties aside, we’ll be seeing him plenty in 2016, with crime drama Free Fire and Anthropoid, also starring Jamie Dornan, expected in cinemas in addition to Peaky Blinders.

I ask if there’s any other projects in the pipeline.

“I don’t know, I’ve no idea,” he says.

“Who knows where I’ll be next year. It’s the nature of our business. It’s not a destination, it’s a journey.”

However, just like his current film, what an epic journey it is.

In the Heart of the Sea is out in cinemas nationwide from December 26