Cillian Murphy comments on Oscar nomination: ‘It didn’t seem like a possibility’

When asked what he would have thought about a nomination to Oscar when I was at the beginning of my career, Murphy recalled his work in theater: “I don’t think you would have believed it or seen it as a possibility. I just wanted to do theater, and do good theater. So, you do a small role in a short, then a small role in a feature film. — we talked about this very gradual process and I think that’s why I can deal with it and enjoy it.”

“I’m 48 years old, I’ve seen a lot and I’ve been doing this for 28 years, so I think I can understand how meaningful it is to me and to other people… You know, it’s been a long road in the business. I think when younger, something like that didn’t seem like a possibility.”

I feel really lucky to be in rooms full of artists that I really admire and to be able to spend time talking about it. It’s a bit of a circus, but it’s there because people love the film, they care about the work and they care about the cinema. I have to say I’m really enjoying it… It felt like a lovely, safe place to be.
I think you need to open your heart a little and move on. It’s all positivity and that’s a good thing. I think we need positivity in the world right now.
There’s a lot of cynicism in the world, I think, and we all recognize our place as actors and we all know where we are in kind of the importance of what we do to society, but I think it’s important to just avoid cynicism and embrace that.

Amid awards and other cinema events, Cillian said the last few weeks have been “a fascinating experience”: “It’s very exciting to meet all these people that you would never meet. I mean, you’re in a line chatting with Meryl Streep or someone like that… It’s really crazy, and it may never happen again in my life, so you have to enjoy it.”