Dear Cillian Murphy,
You are trully one of the best actors nowadays…too bad not many people see that, but I do. Congratulation for the best actor award at The Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards. I know I didn’t see the play (I really really wish I could) but I am sure you are amazing there as many critics said you were.
While everyone seems to pay attention to Oscar, I have my eyes on a different award. I have shared a bit about the award on my previous Monthly Murphy. The result was announced on February 26.
I didn’t share it in my blog straight away because I want it to be in my March Monthly Murphy.
The Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards for best actors, the nominees are:
- Cillian Murphy as Thomas Magill in Misterman , written and directed by Enda Walsh, produced by Landmark Productions/Galway Arts Festival
- Patrick O’Kane as John Proctor in The Crucible , by Arthur Miller, directed by Conall Morrison for The Lyric Theatre, Belfast.
- Paul Reid in Man of Valour , written by Michael West, directed by Annie Ryan and produced by Corn Exchange Theatre Company.
- Philip Judge as Older Man in Trade , written by Mark O’Halloran, directed by Tom Creed for Thisispopbaby.
And the winner is:
Cillian Murphy as Thomas Magill in Misterman , written and directed by Enda Walsh, produced by Landmark Productions/Galway Arts Festival.
Horayyyyyy……. \(^_^)/
I love his acceptance speech…such a down to earth speech. (see the video of his speech at the end of this post)
“I only have two words for this really: Enda Walsh, fifteen years ago he gifted me a career with his play Disco Pigs and 15 years later he gifted me the part of Thomas Magill in Misterman. ”
Source Irishtimes.com
What is Misterman?
It was a play created by the same man that created Disco Pigs, Enda Walsh. If you don’t know Cillian as much as I do, you probably don’t know that Cillian went to law school and was just about to sign a deal for a music record when Enda Walsh offer him to play as the actor in Diusco Pig, a play with only 2 actors in it. And that was the beginning of Cillian’s acting career decision.
15 years after Disco Pigs, he asked Enda why they haven’t work together again ever since? He wanted to play Misterman, a show that had been performed before and Enda was known as someone who won’t repeat his play…but it’s a different case for Cillian, he knew Cillian can pull it through.
Misterman is a show about a man named Thomas Magill who was a bit twisted in the head. This quote from Irish Times can explain the story better.
Seen through the eyes of a quiet, devoutly religious loner – or, more precisely, created in front of us with his jerry-rigged apparatus – it is a place somewhere between purgatory and hell, where Thomas Magill, instrument of the Lord, carefully records everybody’s daily trespasses.
Alone in Black Box Theatre’s eerily cavernous space, Cillian Murphy’s sandals and biblical beard may suggest a Messiah complex, but Enda Walsh’s greatly expanded version of his 1999 play pushes further: he is actually playing God. “Let there be light,” says Murphy, and lo, lamps burn from above and below, casting ghoulish shadows across Jamie Vartan’s exposed, industrial set.
I have compiled articles from across the net back in August 2011, here are the summary of what the articles said about Cillian’s performance in Misterman performed in Ireland:
And in Cillian Murphy we have an actor who has the intensity and courage to push himself to the limit. Working to all our potential I hope and believe we can offer a slice of Ireland and Irish theatre that feels dangerous, deeply unsettling, and challenging for any audience.”
Enda Walsh‘s opinion about Cillian shared in Galway Advertiser
To describe Cillian Murphy as amazing in Enda Walsh’s one-man show Misterman barely begins to do justice to the actor’s performance.
Judi Murphy from Galway City Tribune
In a genuinely virtuoso performance, Murphy thus uses the minute detail of a film actor – his flickering eyes and expressive range are deftly eloquent –
Peter Crawley from Irish Time
To read more praises on his performance as Thomas Magill, including a real eye witness report, you can read it in Misterman – A Sold Out Theatrical Performance by Cillian Murphy.
In December 2011, Enda Walsh and Cillian Murphy brought Misterman to New York and it had another success. However I didn’t do much internet search for Misterman in new York. Here are pictures taken from Misterman in New York.
Misterman will next run at London’s National Theatre in April. When it ran in New York last year, the New York Times described Murphy as “electrifying” and said he seemed “to inhabit every millimetre of the vast and cluttered wasteland in which he has been let loose. And it’s not just because of all that running he does from one end of the stage to the other.”
I wish I have lots of money to go to London and see that performance.
Once again, let we all say
May more people know how talented you are 🙂
Behind The Scenes
The speech (at 1:24)
Polychrome Interest 
big congrats to Cilly!
He is an amazing actor, isn’t he? 😉
Congrats Cillian. You must be thrilled for him Novia! 😀
I am super thrilled 🙂
That kind of challenging role is what he has to keep playing to make the world sees his true talent.
OOh Rah for Cillian!! 🙂
I want to switch place with you Scott…I want to be in England on April 😉
I am so happy CILLIAN won and hope it’s just one of the many awards still to come. With great talent comes great reward. Congratulations to MR MURPHY !!!!!!
As long as he keeps choosing his role carefully, I am sure he will get more awards in the future…people need to see his real talent they Nolan and Boyle saw his talent.
that’s true and i believe he’s on the right track.
In my opinion, NOT if he keeps on chosing his Hollywood movies like In Time.
I want him to play more challenging roles like in Breakfast on Pluto, Peacock, The Barley, etc.
that’s true also. when i said he’s on the right track i was referring to his role in MISTERMAN, that was a challenging role. But you’re right he should play more challenging roles in Hollywood movies. I totally agree.
He’s wasting his time in those Nolan cameos. Worse, Nolan is wasting Murphy’s time… but, since Nolan has no idea how to write characters who resemble anything at all like real human beings (he’s in the game for the BIG. CLEVER. IDEAS. and nothing more, pure and simple), he pretty much wastes the time of all his actors. With “Misterman,” however, Murphy has found and embodied a truly iconic part. He’ll be remembered for this one well after people are done wondering who the little guy with the bag over his head was in Nolan’s dumb, bombastic epics. “Misterman” is absolute genius, and Murphy is brilliant in it.
Hi Blip, so nice to meet another Cillian fans 🙂
Unfortunately, I have different thought regarding Nolan. Nolan appreciate Cillian’s tallent, he even gave him free choice to whatever role he wants in Inception. Cilli chose Fischer because he never played as rich man before….however, I do wish he is given leading role by Nolan one of these days.
We all know that Cillian always pick interesting characters despite the fact that the movies aren’t always fun to watch.
Did you see Misterman?? I envy you, I wish I could see it or at least it was made into DVD.
In April? Might even be feasible for me. I was planning on going to London one of these days.
It’s great that he won the award . I always think theater is more difficult than cinema for an actor.
Yup, April18 if I am not mistaken.
If I am you, I had myself flewn to London straight away. It’s a chance of a lifetime. Yup I believe theatre is more difficult than playing in movies…especially in a one man show. For 90mnts he has to keep people entertain.
Big congratulations!!! How wonderful.
I wish you had lots of money to go see him in London too Nov ❤
Yaiii…let the world know he got what it takes.
Amen to that, that would be my second dream comes true 😉
Congrats Cillian! Oh to be able to see those gorgeous blue eyes LIVE on stage, that’s gotta be awesome! I hope one day that dream would come true for you Nov, I really do! Certainly it’s more attainable than me meeting Gregory, ahah, at least in this realm 😀
It would be nice to see those beautiful blue eyes Live…BUT that isn’t my main reason, I want to see his performance. Non of the reviews I have read said he was mediocre, all said he was amazing.
Just imagine how he himself can keep people glued in a huge stage with ONLY one actor. At least, I wish they record it in DVD and release it. I really want to see misterman.
I understand your difficulty 😉
Hey Nov, did you move recently? I thought I saw your tweet about it. Well hope all is well and you’re all settled in now.
Mr. Murphy, I wish you the biggest congratulations!
He needs more awards in my opinion 😉
I need to check out more of his films since you love him so much! I’ll look into ticket prices for his show in London. Congrats to him! And I’m happy for you that he won.
Ow…please do check more of his movies,especially the ones from UK or Ireland. His Hollywood movies don”t show his real talent.
I hope you can see it, TBM…and tell me all about it afterward 🙂