When Cillian Murphy met Tom Hardy

Fans may not realise they’ve appeared in numerous productions together over the years and are good friends in real life. Between them, they have created some of the most memorable characters in television and film history.

After first meeting in 2010, they have often praised each other’s skills, and their joint media interviews have revealed an easy camaraderie and close bond.

Cillian Murphy career

Born in May 1976 in Cork, Ireland, Murphy didn’t grow up in a show business family, as his father worked at the Department of Education and his mother was a teacher. He became interested in acting while at secondary school, where he completed a drama course led by Pat Kiernan, director of the Corcadorca Theatre Company. Describing the experience as making him feel “fully alive”, he was encouraged by teachers to pursue an acting career, but instead started studying law at University College Cork in 1996.

Dropping out after a year, he became an actor after seeing Corcadorca’s theatre production of A Clockwork Orange. For the next six years, Murphy established himself as a respected actor in many theatre productions, eventually branching out into independent films, including On the Edge in 2001.

What films has Cillian Murphy been in?

Murphy’s big break came in 2002, when he successfully auditioned for the role of lone pandemic survivor Jim, who awoke from a coma in a post-apocalyptic world in the zombie horror film, 28 Days Later. Over the next decade, he became a leading Hollywood A-lister, starring in box office hits such as the epic 2003 period drama, Cold Mountain.

One of his most famous roles was supervillain the Scarecrow, alias Dr Jonathan Crane, in Batman Begins in 2005, with Christian Bale as Batman. He then won the Irish Film and Television Academy Best Actor Award in 2005 for his portrayal of a drag queen in the comedy drama, Breakfast on Pluto.

Tom Hardy career

Tom Hardy was born in September 1977 in Hammersmith, London, to author and comedy writer Edward and artist Anne Hardy. On leaving school, he studied at Richmond Drama School and the Drama Centre London.

His career began as a model after winning the Find Me a Supermodel competition on C4’s The Big Breakfast in 1998. After signing up with the Models 1 agency while still studying at Drama Centre London, he won a leading role as US Army Private John Janovec in gritty BBC war drama, Band of Brothers, the same year.

Like Murphy, Hardy also enjoyed careers on the stage and screen simultaneously, making his film debut in the war thriller, Black Hawk Down, in 2001. He won the London Evening Standard Award 2003 as most Outstanding Newcomer for his performances in Blood at the Royal Court Theatre and In Arabia We’d All Be Kings at Hampstead Theatre.

The most famous Tom Hardy films include the 2008 biographical drama, Bronson, in which he starred as notorious real-life British prisoner Charles Bronson. The same year, he had a lead role as gangster Handsome Bob in Guy Ritchie’s comedy gangster film, Rock n Rolla.

He also played romantic lead Heathcliff in ITV’s adaptation of Wuthering Heights in 2009. Early in 2010, he received rave reviews for his portrayal of alcoholic Sam, who was trying to forget his past, in The Long Red Road at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre.

First meeting

The year 2010 marked the first famous meeting between Cillian Murphy and Tom Hardy on the set of the science fiction heist film, Inception. Once labelled as having the most confusing script of all time, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Dominick Cobb, a professional thief who specialises in extracting secrets from victims by infiltrating their dreams.

Hardy plays Eames, Cobb’s criminal associate, a master forger and expert in identity theft, while Murphy is business empire heir Robert Fischer, who is targeted by the team in a complex corporate espionage plot. Reviews described the film as “wildly ingenious”.

Murphy and Hardy were pictured together at the film’s premiere in 2010 and also gave a joint interview, defending director Christopher Nolan against accusations that it was “over-complex”. Describing him as their “childhood hero”, they had become friends while reading and re-reading the script until they fully grasped the concept.

In 2012, Murphy and Hardy were reunited on the big screen with their roles in The Dark Knight Rises, the conclusion of the Batman trilogy, also directed by Nolan. Murphy reprised his role as the Scarecrow and Hardy was cast as the main villain, Bane, a “liberator of pain”.

Peaky Blinders

Peaky Blinders has become one of the most iconic TV series of its era after debuting in September 2013 and continuing until April 2022. Although friends in real life, Murphy and Hardy were enemies in the series, which revolved around rival gangs in England in the aftermath of World War I.

The character of Thomas Shelby, played by Cillian Murphy on Peaky Blinders, was incredibly complex. While essentially a criminal and leader of a ruthless gang, he gained a legion of fans who said he committed evil deeds for the right reasons.

Hardy played rival gang leader Alfie Solomons, whose character evolved into a cohort of Shelby’s Peaky Blinders gang, although their relationship was marred by betrayal.

In February 2024, Murphy described Hardy as “one of the best actors in the business” and said a “great trust” and “nice kind of chemistry” had developed between them over the years.

During filming of Peaky Blinders, Murphy and Hardy also found time to star in Dunkirk, the 2017 critically acclaimed film about World War II, playing a soldier and a Spitfire pilot respectively. They were reunited with Nolan again, as he wrote, directed and co-produced the film, which depicted the rescue of 338,000 Allied troops from the French port during the Dunkirk evacuations.

Mutual respect

Many joint interviews have showcased their friendship and humour. Revealing how they were sent on a crash course together in Calgary to learn how to ski for their roles in Inception, Hardy confessed they had been strapped to snowmobiles with gaffa tape to make them look more competent!

A Peaky Blinders film is now in the works, set during World War II, with Murphy reprising his role as Tommy Shelby. In June 2024, Hardy said he’d like to feature as Alfie Solomons again, but added, “I don’t know if I will.” Filming began on 30th September and Murphy said he’d “love to” work with Hardy again, adding cryptically “maybe” in a Peaky Blinders film. Only time will tell, as the release date is set for 2026.