‘Steve’ Exclusive Interview: Cillian Murphy

in Movie

Reading Time: 6 mins read

Cillian Murphy stars in ‘Steve’.

Opening in select theaters on September 19th before premiering on Netflix October 3rd is the new drama ‘Steve’, which was directed by Tim Mielants and written by Max Porter, based on his novel ‘Shy’.

“A Quiet Storm of Emotion”

Release Date: Sep 19, 2025

Run Time: 1 hr 32 min

The film stars Oscar winner Cillian Murphy (‘Oppenheimer’), Tracey Ullman (‘Into the Woods’), and Emily Watson (‘Red Dragon’).

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Academy Award winner Cillian Murphy about his work on ‘Steve’, his first reaction to the screenplay and why he wanted to make the movie, his approach to the character, working with the cast of young actors, collaborating with director Tim Mielants on set, and why Tracey Ullman is so funny.

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Cillian Murphy as Steve in 'Steve'. Photo: Robert Viglasky/Neflix © 2025.

Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about your first reaction to the screenplay, and why you wanted to make this movie?

Cillian Murphy: I have a very strong friendship with Max Porter, the novelist. In fact, I was given the novel in proof form before it came out and so we’d been talking about it for a long time. Max had this idea that he could take the world of the novel and adapt it rather than adapt it exactly as it was because it was written in the first person in the kind of stream of consciousness from the point of view of Shy. So, he spun it on its axis to make it more from Steve’s point of view, but also a telling of Shy’s story. So, it was just reinventing the novella. (I wanted to make it) because I think it’s a very important story.

Cillian Murphy as Steve (Center-Right) in 'Steve'. Photo: Robert Viglasky/Netflix © 2025.

MF: Steve is a character that is in great pain, both physically and emotionally. Can you talk about your approach to playing him?

CM: Well, I think he’s like the rest of us. He’s just struggling. He’s dealing with stuff. He’s trying to get through the day. He’s under an intense amount of pressure. He’s putting other people before himself, which is not always the right thing to do. I don’t know if you can fix other people before you looked after yourself. He probably shouldn’t oversee a lot of kids, fragile, vulnerable kids, because he’s so fragile and vulnerable himself. But that’s intensely human and I think that’s what I’ve found so appealing about him because I like playing these characters that in which we can see versions of ourselves, which are not always perfect. They’re quite flawed and contradictory and they’re just reaching.

(L to R) Jay Lycurgo as Shy, Cillian Murphy as Steve in 'Steve'. Photo: Robert Viglasky/Neflix © 2025.

MF: Can you talk about working with the young actors in the cast and was there a lot of improvisation on set?

CM: There wasn’t that much improvisation. I’d say it was 95% scripted. They were amazing. A lot of them were actors and a few of them had never acted before. It was a real shot in the arm for me to see that energy and that passion that they had for their craft, and they really became a real gang. They’re still a real gang and they’re still in touch and they’re still great buddies. It was authentic and brilliant.

Cillian Murphy (Right) as Steve in ‘Steve’. Photo: Robert Viglasky/Netflix
© 2025.

MF: What was it like collaborating on set with director Tim Mielants?

CM: Well, this is my third film with Tim, so, again, we’re very close. We have a real shorthand, a real understanding and a shared taste. We shot the film chronologically, which is the biggest gift you can give to a crew and to a cast, I think. Because you experience what’s happening to the character as the character experiences it, so you’re not dancing around trying to retrospectively figure out what may have happened or trying to imagine what would’ve happened in the future. You’re living this story as the characters would. As much as you can do, or it certainly helps the process. It’s almost impossible to achieve normally, but we were just in one location, so we were able to employ that.

(L to R) Tracey Ullman as Amanda, Cillian Murphy as Steve in 'Steve'. Photo: Robert Viglasky/Neflix © 2025.

MF: Finally, what was it like working with legendary comedic actress Tracey Ullman and was she funny on set in between takes?

CM: We always have a laugh on our sets. There’s always a lot of laughing and messing around, but Tracye, she’s an icon. She is a comedy legend, but she’s also a tremendous dramatic actor. She’s very keen to show that part of what she can do, and she just absolutely nailed it in the film, I think.