Five of Cillian Murphy’s best moments as star celebrates milestone birthday

Academy Award winning actor Cillian Murphy celebrated a milestone birthday on Monday.

The "Peaky Blinders" legend turns 50 years old on May 25, with social media users taking to the internet to extend well wishes to the Cork man.

Cillian is married to artist Yvonne McGuinness since 2004. The couple share two children — Aran and Malachy.

From humble beginnings to his recent Academy Award success, and generally dry and witty humour, Extra.ie take a look at five of Cillian’s most iconic moments…

Break out role

Having played a number of small roles in the late 90s, it’s the early 2000s when Murphy really bursts onto the scene.

His 2002 performance in Danny Boyle’s zombie drama "28 Days Later" turned him into a household name.

The Cork man returned to the role of Jim earlier this year in the fourth installment of the franchise, "28 Years Later: The Bone Temple."

Disappointed Cillian Murphy meme

Through the years, Cillian has provided us with some hilarious moments. The Irish star has been vocal about his dislike of public events, and doesn’t appear to be a fan of media interviews, which are unfortunately necessary for promoting his work.

Cillian has become meme-worthy for his blank expressions during such interviews, with the 'Disappointed Cillian Murphy' meme going viral before.

Asked about the meme in 2017 by journalist Alex Flood, Cillian was rather confused as he confessed he didn’t know what a meme was.

Alex proceeded to explain what a meme was with Cillian responding he was happy to learn something new.

By Order of the Peaky Blinders

By 2013, Cillian was well-loved and adored by many, which was further strengthened when he joined the BBC crime drama "Peaky Blinders" as Thomas Shelby.

The show wrapped up in 2022, with the movie "Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man" having been released this year.

Despite concluding four years ago, "Peaky Blinders" still has a legion of fans with many quotable moments in the show with Cillian as Tommy.

Christopher Nolan collaboration

Cillian Murphy first worked under director Christopher Nolan in 2005 when he was cast as Dr Jonathan Crane (Scarecrow) in "Batman Begins."

Murphy reprised the role briefly in "The Dark Knight" in 2008. The duo joined up again in 2010 for "Inception," before Nolan’s third "Batman" installment, "The Dark Knight Rises" in 2012.

Nolan had Murphy in his 2017 flick "Dunkirk," with their sixth outing together in 2023 for "Oppenheimer."

The flick about the father of the atomic bomb not only saw Murphy take the lead for the first time in a Nolan film, but also afforded him his first Academy Award win for his role.

Cillian Murphy with his first-ever Oscar. (Getty Images)

"ROMO"

Despite their 20-year working relationship and the success of "Oppenheimer," Cillian didn’t get a role in Christopher Nolan’s next film, "The Odyssey."

That is, much to the relief of Cillian, who admitted on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" that he was happy to be shunned.

"It’s the opposite of FOMO [fear of missing out]," he explained, while clarifying that it is a "gift" to watch a Christopher Nolan film and not have "the burden of looking at my own stupid head."

*This article was originally published on Extra.ie.