Cillian Murphy has explained that his fame “comes in waves”.
The Peaky Blinders star has shared that his level of fame ebbs and flows depending on the projects he is working on.
In a new interview with GQ, Cillian was asked if his life had changed after playing the titular character in Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster Oppenheimer, which has grossed more than $950 million (£800 million) worldwide.
“To me, it always seems to go in waves,” the 47-year-old said. “When Peaky was at its kind of apex, you’d feel a different energy around, walking around, a little bit like I do now – but then it settles down again. It kind of comes in waves. And then you don’t have something in the cinema for ages, and people forget about it.”
He added, “So. It seems to be like that, and you sort of ride that, and then things go back to normal.”
The current Oscar nominee revealed that despite the success of Oppenheimer, he is still asked most about playing Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders, which ran from 2013 to 2022.
He told the publication, “Peaky is still the thing I get asked most about in the world.”
Elsewhere in the interview, the notoriously private Cillian explained that turning down fans’ photo requests has “changed (his) life”.
“I just think it’s better to say hello, and have a little conversation,” the Irish actor explained. “I tell that to a lot of people, you know, actor friends of mine, and they’re just like: I feel so bad. But you don’t need a photo record of everywhere you’ve been in a day.”