Cillian Murphy (born 25 May 1976) is an renowned Irish actor known for his roles in both theater and film. His career is distinguished by numerous awards and an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Golden Globe Award. Murphy began his acting career in 1996 with the play *Disco Pigs* by Enda Walsh, a role he took up again for the 2001 adaptation. His early credits include the horror film *28 Days Later* (2002), the dark comedy *Intermission* (2003), the thriller *Red Eye* (2005), the Irish war drama *The Wind That Shakes the Barley* (2006), and the science fiction thriller *Sunshine* (2007). In *Breakfast on Pluto* (2005), he portrayed a transgender Irish woman, earning his first Golden Globe nomination. In 2005, Murphy started working with filmmaker Christopher Nolan, taking on the role of the Scarecrow for *The Dark Knight* trilogy (2005–2012) and appearing in *Inception* (2010) and *Dunkirk* (2017). He achieved greater prominence as Tommy Shelby in the BBC period drama *Peaky Blinders* (2013–2022) and starred in the horror sequel *A Quiet Place Part II* (2020). Murphy's portrayal of J. Robert Oppenheimer in Nolan’s *Oppenheimer* (2023) earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor. In 2011, he won the prestigious Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance for the one-man play *Misterman*. In 2020, *The Irish Times* named him one of the top Irish film actors of all time.