Nolan's Best Actor Landed His Breakthrough Gig By Shameless Self-Promotion Via SMS

Summary:

• Prior to starring in Oppenheimer, Cillian Murphy ’s most famous role was Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders.
• After his first meeting with Steve Knight, the show’s creator, Murphy felt like he wasn’t the obvious choice.
• Murphy sent the director a text saying, “Remember, Steve: I’m an actor,” to get Knight’s full attention.

While he’d always been a prominent actor, Cillian Murphy rose to the peak of his fame only recently after starring in Christopher Nolan ’s Oppenheimer. The iconic director even named him “the best actor of his generation” recently, provoking a backlash from Leonardo DiCaprio fans, but that’s a different story.

Before the epic three-hour-long biopic about the father of the atomic bomb, Murphy was primarily known for his portrayal of Tommy Shelby, the ruthless gang leader from BBC’s crime drama Peaky Blinders, the role he booked in the funniest way.

Murphy Became Shelby Thanks To His SMS Spam

While the part of Tommy Shelby became a massive breakthrough in Cillian Murphy’s acting career, he was feeling pretty insecure after the audience. After estimating his competition, the actor knew he likely wouldn’t be the first pick for the part… So he resorted to sending bizarre texts to Steven Knight, the creator of Peaky Blinders.

“I wasn't the obvious choice physically. I don't know if I convinced him in the meeting, <...> but apparently afterwards, I sent him a text saying: ‘Remember, Steve: I’m an actor,’” Murphy recalled when appearing on BBC’s Desert Island Discs.

This five-word-long SMS clearly worked, because in the end, the actor put on Tommy Shelby’s now iconic hat. Murphy’s text might appear weird at first, but it’s easy to see why it convinced Steven Knight after you understand its real meaning.

What Did Murphy Tell Steven Knight In That Text?

Suspecting that his physical appearance might not have been enough, Cillian Murphy knew he had to double down on his bet. Murphy’s acting chops have always been unmatched, and he decided to remind the Peaky Blinders director about it to divert his attention from the more “gangster-looking” candidates for the role.

“I do think it's our duty as actors to transform to whatever the part demands,” Murphy explained. Steven Knight obviously understood his intentions, so he gave the actor a chance and never came to regret it. With Cillian Murphy leading Peaky Blinders, the show quickly became an international phenomenon, and the actor’s piercing blue eyes are forever associated with the gang’s name in everyone’s books now.

Source: BBC Radio 4