Cillian Murphy has appeared in six Christopher Nolan movies, including 2023’s “Oppenheimer,” which earned them both Oscars. But the cinematic collaborators are taking a break, as Murphy won’t appear in Nolan’s next epic, his upcoming adaptation of “The Odyssey.”
While Murphy was in Variety‘s Toronto Film Festival studio with the team behind his new movie “Steve,” — costars Tracey Ullman, Jay Lycurgo and Simbi Ajikawo, as well as director Tim Mielants and screenwriter Max Porter — he was asked about “The Odyssey.”
“Is there a trailer? I have ROMO: ‘Relief of missing out,’” Murphy joked. “No, I can’t wait to see it. If any director in the world could tackle ‘The Odyssey,’ it’s going to be Christopher Nolan. I am so excited to see it. He is one in a million. He’s been a huge part of my life as an actor. I can’t wait to see what he does with it.”
Murphy was also asked about the upcoming “Peaky Blinders” movie, but was tight-lipped, saying, “Oh, I can’t tell you.”
“Steve,” which had its world premiere on Sept. 5 at TIFF, earned a rave review from Variety‘s chief film critic Peter Debruge, who praised Murphy’s acting as the titular reform school teacher.
“For many, ‘Oppenheimer’ was the performance of Murphy’s career (too few saw his astonishing work in ‘Breakfast on Pluto’),” he wrote. “In any case, the Irish actor’s two recent collaborations with Mielants demonstrate both a humility — the tiny films are anything but paycheck projects — and how much more he still has to offer. It’s rare to see the fresh-faced star with scruff, or yielding the scene to a room full of unknowns, but Steve is a man who gives too much of himself, and it takes a man of Murphy’s commitment to suggest where that comes from.”
Watch Murphy discussing Nolan below.