The Top 3 Reasons Why Women Are Crazy About Cillian Murphy

If you’ve spent a lot of time on social media this past year, you may have stumbled upon Cillian Murphy fan edits. I know I have, and while I am responsible for my own algorithm, there’s no doubt that the Oppenheimer star has garnered a large fanbase in the past decade. This could be thanks to Murphy’s role in the hit show Peaky Blinders, where he plays stoic gang leader Thomas Michael “Tommy” Shelby. While Tommy’s existence and cool disposition remain only in our dreams, Murphy’s personality is not too far off in real life. Obviously, he’s not an English mob boss or a criminal, but he does seem largely unbothered and comes off as mysterious. 

His expressionless face has even brought about a popular trend dubbed the “disappointed Cillian Murphy meme.” 

Besides his unfazed demeanor and amazing talent, here are three more reasons why Murphy is so popular with the ladies.

Cillian Murphy Is Offline and Mysterious 

Mystery is sexy to everyone, and not having a social media presence can make you appear enigmatic (or old…) to some people. There’s also something really attractive about men who don’t use the internet much since there’s this assumption that they mostly live in the real world. Murphy is a wonderful example of such a man – we discover this in an older press run with his co-star Jamie Dornan, where he didn't even know what "OMG" stood for, further revealing that he didn’t use emojis. 

Murphy was also asked for his opinion on the disappointed meme in a separate interview. Naturally, he was confused, because he had no idea what a meme was (can you imagine?!). Unsurprisingly, the 47-year-old doesn’t use social media, and I’ve only ever found one selfie of him.

Playing opposite the Irish-born celeb in Oppenheimer is Robert Downey Jr., who frequently shares snapshots of his life on Instagram. RDJ uploaded a video to show off a star-studded event in Paris with the cast of Oppenheimer. He's seen walking toward Murphy with the camera, who immediately lifts up his hand to cover up the shot.

My friends and I have previously talked about Murphy’s closed-off personality: “He just works and goes home,” we joked. Turns out, we were right. This year, Murphy attributed his “lack of swagger” to not going out much. “I don’t really partake. I don’t go out. I’m just at home mostly, or with my friends, unless I have a film to promote. I don’t like being photographed by people. I find that offensive,” he said.

In a 2021 interview with The Irish Times, the Inception actor revealed that he just wants to be an actor – that’s it. He added that the less people know about him, the better he is at playing characters. “I don’t know, man. I just like to do the work,” he said. “And that always seemed to me like the most sensible approach. I didn’t see myself as a personality. I see myself as an actor. I think those are two distinct jobs. And my job is to portray other people. The less that people know about me, the better I can portray other people. That seems glaringly obvious and logical to me.”

Cillian Murphy Is Beautiful

He’s got icy blue eyes, a strong jawline, nice hair, a soothing voice, and a great accent. Need I go on?

Fans may be surprised to hear that Murphy is 5’7” – despite this, many girls claim that he has 6’2” energy.

Cillian Murphy Is a Devoted Family Man

The countless headlines about celebrity divorces are disheartening, but don’t give up on love yet, because Murphy sure hasn’t! He's been with his wife, artist Yvonne McGuiness, for nearly 30 years, and they share two children together. The couple first met in 1996 (Murphy was about 20) after one of his band’s shows. During this time, Murphy embarked on his acting journey with a role in the play Disco Pigs. The production's massive success led to an 18-month global tour.

Murphy recalled this period in a 2016 interview with The Guardian, stating that it was one of the most significant eras in his life. “It was like being in a band again. Except that people actually came to the shows,” Murphy said. “That time, making Disco Pigs was kind of the most important period of my life. The people I met there remain my closest friends. Enda Walsh. Pat Kiernan. Eileen Walsh. They shaped me in terms of my tastes, in terms of what I wanted to do with my life. And it was around the same time I met my wife. She came on tour with us. It was so exciting, 20 years ago or whatever it was – we were all just kids, trying to find our way – but such a special, special time.”

The wedding was held at McGuiness's vineyard in Provence, in southeastern France. One year later, the couple welcomed their first child, Malachy. In 2006, Murphy went candid about his family life, stating that his wife was pregnant while he filmed The Wind That Shakes the Barley. Luckily, the movie was shot near his residence, so he was able to support his wife throughout her pregnancy. "Easily my best experience in terms of the process of acting. Plus, it was during the summer months," he told The Guardian. "I was living at home with my folks; my wife was pregnant with our son; and we were running around the hills of west Cork shooting up Black and Tans. Fantastic!"

In 2007, Murphy and McGuiness welcomed their second child, Aran – who seems to be a chip off the old block. According to an article by Broadway World, Aran began acting in school plays and later attended the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The Dunkirk actor opened up about Aran's performance in 2021. "He was so chilled about it, you know? He would come off stage and ask what the score was in the Liverpool game. And, again, you're slightly jealous of that!" he revealed. "There's the danger that overanalyzing everything can erode the simplicity." Looks like we have a future star in the making!

One of Murphy's previous co-stars, Sasha Luss, once said that Murphy was a cool and talented actor who loved his wife very much. She said that nearly every conversation they had was about McGuinness and their dog. Luss reportedly admired his devotion, which is undoubtedly rare in filmdom.

Years ago, Murphy confessed that balancing life and work was a difficult task, and shows gratitude toward his wife for being understanding. "That work-life-balance thing is hard,” he told GQ. “I have an amazing wife, and I couldn't do this without her and her understanding. But it is a struggle. I think it is for any dad whose work takes him away, which it generally does, and which consumes him, which my work does.” They’re so lucky to have each other! 

It seems that Murphy's appeal is in not caring what other people think. He doesn't care if RDJ is Iron Man, if he doesn't want his photo taken, he'll let him know. He knows he has fans, but he won't pretend to be enthused when he meets them. Murphy understands everyone's life involves technology and social media, but he's decided to remain unplugged and unbothered. In a sense, Murphy is an original, but a true family man at heart, rather than a carbon copy of celebrities who curate their public persona to appear friendly and sociable. At the end of the day, women want a real man who stays true to his identity and beliefs – and Murphy does a great job of embodying these qualities.

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