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What is the best Cillian Murphy movie?

By YPB Team

From Oscar-winning gravitas to indie arthouse turns and blockbuster villainy, this lineup spans the full range of his craft. Which performance takes the crown?

  1. Oppenheimer — ranked #11
    Oppenheimer
    Christopher Nolan's 2023 biopic in which Murphy plays J. Robert Oppenheimer, winning him the Academy Award for Best Actor.
    1000pts
  2. Dunkirk — ranked #22
    Dunkirk
    Nolan's 2017 WWII epic in which Murphy plays a shell-shocked soldier rescued at sea.
    689pts
  3. Red Eye — ranked #33
    Red Eye
    Wes Craven's 2005 airborne thriller starring Murphy as a charming assassin opposite Rachel McAdams.
    597pts
  4. Inception — ranked #44
    Inception
    Nolan's 2010 sci-fi heist thriller with Murphy as Robert Fischer, the target of the dream-sharing team.
    596pts
  5. The Dark Knight — ranked #55
    The Dark Knight
    Nolan's 2008 Batman sequel where Murphy reprises his role as Dr. Jonathan Crane, the Scarecrow.
    596pts
  6. Sunshine — ranked #66
    Sunshine
    Danny Boyle's 2007 sci-fi film with Murphy as the physicist leading a mission to reignite the dying sun.
    596pts
  7. Breakfast on Pluto — ranked #77
    Breakfast on Pluto
    Neil Jordan's 2005 tragicomedy with Murphy as a transgender woman searching for her birth mother in 1970s Ireland/London.
    517pts
  8. Batman Begins — ranked #88
    Batman Begins
    The 2005 Batman origin film in which Murphy plays the villain Scarecrow alongside Christian Bale.
    423pts
  9. Free Fire — ranked #99
    Free Fire
    Ben Wheatley's 2016 dark comedy where Murphy plays an IRA arms buyer whose deal descends into a warehouse shootout.
    423pts
  10. 28 Days Later — ranked #1010
    28 Days Later
    Danny Boyle's 2002 zombie-outbreak film that gave Murphy his breakout lead role as Jim.
    423pts
  11. 28 Years Later — ranked #1111
    28 Years Later
    The 2025 revival of the zombie franchise that launched Murphy's career, with Murphy returning in a pivotal role.
    423pts
  12. A Quiet Place Part II — ranked #1212
    A Quiet Place Part II
    The 2020 horror sequel featuring Murphy as a survivor who shelters the Abbott family.
    310pts
  13. In Time — ranked #1313
    In Time
    A 2011 sci-fi thriller where Murphy plays a relentless Timekeeper hunting Justin Timberlake's character.
    310pts
  14. The Wind That Shakes the Barley — ranked #1414
    The Wind That Shakes the Barley
    Ken Loach's 2006 Irish War of Independence drama starring Murphy, which won the Palme d'Or.
    310pts
  15. Small Things Like These — ranked #1515
    Small Things Like These
    A 2024 Irish drama starring Murphy as a coal merchant confronting the Magdalene laundries' abuses.
    0pts
movies717actors279thriller60Cillian Murphy1

Comments 1

An audition for Batman in 2004 ended with the Scarecrow instead, and five of these fifteen films came from the director who turned him down: https://youpick.best/articles/christopher-nolan-ranked-many-ways

YP
ypb-teamAug 21
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