Cillian Murphy is officially on a hot streak. After blowing up Hollywood with Oppenheimer and melting hearts in Small Things Like These, the Irish star is back with Steve — a raw, emotional gut-punch of a film that dives deep into the mind of a headteacher barely holding it together.
Adapted from Max Porter’s novella Shy, the film flips the spotlight onto a character who was barely more than a footnote in the original book. Now, thanks to Murphy’s creative instincts and long-time collaboration with Porter and director Tim Mielants, Steve is front and centre — and he's Irish too.
Murphy, who comes from a family of teachers, says he didn’t set out to make a film about education, but the story hit close to home. What started as a passion project with friends turned into a powerful reflection on pressure, purpose, and mental health. And Murphy’s performance? Equal parts fragile and ferocious.
Behind the scenes, Steve also marks another bold move from Murphy the producer. As the second release from his production company Big Things Films, the actor is loving the chance to shape projects from the ground up — and nerding out on the editing and scoring process like a kid in a candy shop.
With another instant classic under his belt and the Peaky Blinders movie on the way, Murphy isn’t slowing down. Three hits in a row — and counting.
Steve is in cinemas now and lands on Netflix on October 3rd.
