Cillian Murphy opened up about the kind of roles he was drawn to and made it clear that playing easy or happy characters was not something he wanted. 

The 49 year old actor admitted that he has “zero interest” in taking on characters who seemed content.

Cillian explained that he preferred to work on roles that explored life’s bigger questions, even if they were dark and difficult. “I have zero interest in playing characters that are seemingly content,” he told The Observer magazine.

First of all, I don’t think that exists. Second of all, we don’t see ourselves in those people. I think everyone is f****** struggling, to a greater or lesser degree.” 

The Oppenheimer actor continued, “Everyone gets up in the morning like: how do I do this now? How do I get through this day? How the f*** do we get on in life knowing that, like, eventually, we’re all just going to die. How do we do good? How do we raise our children? All these big questions, I don’t think you find it in lighter material. It’s not for me.”

Cillian added that while he wanted his projects to explore social issues, that did not mean they could not also entertain audiences. 

“Given the state of the world, it would be nice to make work that is entertaining but also kind of stimulating or provocative,” he said.

The Small Things Like These star will next appear in Steve, playing a headmaster at a school for troubled boys in the 1990s. 

The role felt very personal for him as the story was written in his own style by close friend Max Porter. 

Cillian admitted it was “very exposing” compared to his work as Tommy Shelby, a character who required him to transform completely.