Cillian Murphy in "Steve."Netflix
Irish Oscar winner Cillian Murphy plays a headteacher in the first trailer for "Steve," which is set for a limited theater run before premiering globally on Netflix in October.
"Set in the mid-90s, 'Steve' is a reimagining of Max Porter's Sunday Times bestseller 'Shy,'" Netflix says in its synopsis of the new Murphy-fronted flick.
"The film follows a pivotal day in the life of headteacher Steve (Academy Award® winner Cillian Murphy) and his students at a last-chance reform school amidst a world that has forsaken them.
"As Steve fights to protect the school’s integrity and impending closure, we witness him grappling with his own mental health.
"In parallel to Steve’s struggles, we meet Shy (Jay Lycurgo), a troubled teen caught between his past and what lies ahead as he tries to reconcile his inner fragility with his impulse for self-destruction and violence."
Cillian Murphy, second from right, in "Steve." (Robert Viglasky/Netflix © 2025)
For "Steve," Murphy is reuniting with his "Small Things Like These" co-star Emil Watson and director Tim Mielants. Murphy also previously worked with Mielants on the hit television series "Peaky Blinders."
Rounding out the cast are Tracey Ullman ("Mrs. America," "The Tracey Ullman Show"), Jay Lycurgo ("Half Bad: The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself," "I May Destroy You"), and Simbi Ajikawo ("Top Boy").
Cillian Murphy, right, in "Steve." (Robert Viglasky/Netflix © 2025)
"Steve" will be at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September, and will arrive in select theaters in the US and Ireland on September 19. The drama will premiere globally on Netflix on October 3.
Cork premiere of "Steve"
The film is also due to have its European premiere in none other than Murphy's home county of Cork.
"It’s a festival that Cillian is associated with in Cork, and we wanted to do something in Ireland," Murphy's producing partner and Big Things Films co-founder Alan Moloney told Deadline.
"Cork is obviously Cillian’s hometown, and so the timing of it all just worked the way it did. It feels like the right thing to do.
"We are very excited about that, very excited to go to Cork. And people from Dublin, as I am from, don’t go to Cork very often."
When asked what's next, Murphy told Deadline: "I’m kind of taking the year off. I’m doing this work, but I’m not actually acting on anything, which is nice for a while. I’m just waiting for Tim to cast me in his next film."