Cillian Murphy is one of those actors who just seem to blend seamlessly into any role thrust upon him. The guy is so versatile — he does drama, action, horror, and he can also switch his accent when needed.

Today, I wanted to go over ten movies he’s in that I think are great. We’ll look at his roles and what he brings to each feature film.

Sound good?

Let’s dive in.

10. A Quiet Place Part II (2020)

Joining an established franchise is tough. You have to fit the tone while still making a mark. Murphy’s Emmett barely speaks for half the movie, but his performance is screaming with loss and carrying a tragedy.

9. Red Eye (2005)

Want to learn how to build tension? Watch this movie. It’s a Wes Craven thriller that’s essentially a two-hander 20,000 feet in the air. Murphy’s Jackson Rippner is all charm and charisma until he’s not. And that switch he flips is so hard — he has to trick the audience over and over. Hide the monster, and then unleash it.

8. Breakfast on Pluto (2005)

I think this is one of those underseen and underrated movies. As Kitten Braden, Murphy is vulnerable and completely fearless. This role could have so easily become a caricature, but he grounds it in a deeply human search for love and belonging. And the movie rocks.

7. Sunshine (2007)

Danny Boyle’s sci-fi epic is a pressure cooker. Murphy plays the physicist Capa, and he has to explain and carry the intellectual and moral weight of the entire mission for the audience. He is the smartest man in the room, but breaks things down in a way that is accessible and also scary as things go sideways.

6. Batman Begins (2005)

Every great hero needs a great villain, but Scarecrow is a different kind of threat. Murphy plays him as an intellectual experimenting to tear a city apart. This aura fits into the tapestry of Gotham City and lays in with the plan to level it. Murphy makes us understand Doctor Crane and his evil intentions.

5. Dunkirk (2017)

This movie is so excellent and so wild. Nolan drops Murphy onto a boat, calls him “Shivering Soldier,” and that’s it. We know nothing about him. But in his vacant stare and trembling hands, we see the entire horror of the war. This is just a director trusting an actor to show the audience everything we need to understand.

4. Inception (2010)

This is the “There are no small parts” role. On paper, Robert Fischer is the “mark,” and in this movie, a plot device to get us into the action. But Murphy makes his desperate need for his father’s approval feel real and necessary. Without his incredible performance, the high-concept heist has no soul.

3. The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006)

If you ever want to understand quiet conviction, watch this movie. Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or winner is raw and naturalistic, and Murphy is its beating heart. He transforms from an idealistic doctor to a hardened revolutionary, ready to kill whoever stands in his way. His quiet moments are his most profound.

2. 28 Days Later (2002)

This is the performance that put him on the map. Danny Boyle’s film reinvented a whole genre, and it did it by focusing on Murphy’s terrified, bewildered face as he searches London for other survivors. And then we see Murphy carry the hope and future into this role as well.

1. Oppenheimer (2023)

Yeah, it’s the Oscar winner, but it’s at the top for a reason. This is one of the best performances in a movie in a long time, and of all time. Nolan’s camera is basically a microscope on Murphy’s face for three hours, and he delivers every emotion and beat of the story. He’s a genius, a charming womanizer, and a brutal war machine at other times. and everything in between.

Summing It All Up 

Cillian Murphy is such a wonderful actor who picks great roles. I love how open he is to doing different things and how much soul he brings to each person. He’s such a human actor and so interesting. I cannot wait to see what he does next.

Let me know what you think in the comments.