Cillian Murphy (born 25 May 1976) is an acclaimed Irish actor known for his performances on both the stage and screen. His career is distinguished by numerous honors, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Golden Globe Award. Murphy started his professional journey in 1996 with the play *Disco Pigs* by Enda Walsh, a role he reprised for the film 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 Award nomination. In 2005, Murphy began collaborating with filmmaker Christopher Nolan, playing the Scarecrow in *The Dark Knight* trilogy (2005–2012) and appearing in *Inception* (2010) and *Dunkirk* (2017). He achieved significant fame 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 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance for the one-man play *Misterman*. In 2020, *The Irish Times* named him one of the greatest Irish film actors of all time.