The young actor’s new series is out this month
15:02, 13 Sep 2026Updated 15:06, 13 Sep 2026
Cillian Murphy’s son Aran Murphy stars in HBO’s Youth(Image: COURTESY OF HBO)
They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree – and maybe there’s never been a better example than Aran Murphy, son of Cork-born Oscar winner Cillian Murphy.
While certainly lesser known than his dad- this young actor has been taking after his father and slowly making a name for himself in the film and TV world. This week, he stepped out on the red carpet for the premiere of new HBO comedy series Youth, in one of his most significant roles to date.
During the event, he gave all the usual red-carpet interviews to promote the series. But while he might have hoped people would focus on the show – videos of him have gone viral for a completely different reason, with millions of views across social media.
The clips boast thousands of comments that all come to the same conclusion: the young actor looks the bop off his father. But more than that, the two act almost exactly the same as well, with Aran carrying the same tone, body language and humble nature as his dad.
Two interview videos, shared by influencer Jodie McCallum on TikTok, have garnered thousands of comments as everyone talks about the striking similarities between the pair.
One commenter wrote: “I have never recognized someone’s lineage this fast in my life”
Another said: “That is Cillian Murphy, heavily moisturised. I will not be convinced otherwise”
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A third added: “That’s how you know Cillian is a present father, because what the f**k. His mimicry, gestures, enunciation…everything is identical.”
And one more commented: “This is a level of generational copy+paste I’ve never seen before, down to the coy rocking of his heels.”
One of our personal favourites was the person who wrote that Aran and Cillian’s home must be “the calmest house in Ireland.”
In the interview, Aran talks about the helping hand he had in the show’s production, which involved all his friends sending him ‘AI slop memes’ to show to Youth creator Sharon Horgan.
The new show marks a major step forward for the younger Murphy, following his appearance in the film Lola. According to IMDb, he has also featured in the TV show War, and starred alongside Jenna Ortega in the film Klara and the Sun, which releases next month in the US.
In the eight-part series Youth, Horgan takes on the lead role of Alex alongside an impressive supporting cast. Aran plays Ruari, the adult son of Horgan’s lead character Alex, a 50-year-old divorcee who embarks on a quest for sex and love while juggling the care of her elderly parents and helping her son as he heads off to university. You can check out the trailer here.
Youth premieres on HBO UK & Ireland on September 21