Cillian Murphy has said that films should not be preachy.
The Oscar-winning actor, 49, said movies should be provocative and ask questions but “should never tell you how to feel”.
His latest film, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, involves Nazis teaming up with gangsters to try to crash the British economy during the Second World War.
In an interview with The Times, the Irish actor was asked about the film being released in an era when some political commentators on social media are openly supportive of Nazis.
Cillian Murphy (right) played J Robert Oppenheimer and won an Academy Award for Best Actor – Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures
“That’s profoundly upsetting,” he said. “But then this film wears that lightly – it’s not The Zone of Interest, let’s put it that way.
“And, look, the last thing I want to be involved in is preachy or dogmatic work because films should never tell you how to feel.
“They should just ask questions. This should be an entertaining action film with a big heart, but if you want to look closer it could be provocative too. The best mainstream entertainment operates simultaneously on those levels.”
Murphy said that Oppenheimer, the 2023 biopic of J Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist, which earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor, was an example of a film that was both entertaining and provocative.
He said: “If you want to talk about where we are in the world and look at how close we are to nuclear f—ing Armageddon, you can think about Oppenheimer in that way, but if you just want to look at a great film with big explosions then that’s cool as well.”
Murphy played Birmingham gangster Tommy Shelby in the Peaky Blinders TV series from 2013 to 2022 – Robert Viglasky/Caryn Mandbach Productions
The Peaky Blinders film is a continuation of the critically acclaimed television series, in which Murphy played gang leader Tommy Shelby in interwar Birmingham. The show ran for six series from 2013-2022.
“I was 35 when we started and 48 when we made the film,” he said.
“I’ve played Tommy for over a quarter of my life, moving from being a youngish man right into the teeth of middle age. It’s incredibly rewarding seeing everybody around you get older.”
Murphy also dismissed rumours that he will take on the role of Voldemort in the upcoming Harry Potter television series.
“I’m categorically not,” he said.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com ’
