Cillian Murphy, 27, was studying law in Cork, Ireland, when in 1996, he landed a lead in a local play called Disco Pigs, about two anarchic teenagers. Soon his law books were gathering dust. "My family was less than pleased," he admits. "But acting was something I thought I'd try and it worked out."
Since then, Murphy has starred in a bunch of small films (including the movie version of Disco Pigs, 2001), but his breakthrough is likely to be this month's 28 Days Later..., directed by Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 1996). Murphy describes the project as "a horror/sci-fi film, very bleak, black ... though I've been told not to give too much away." The actor's cool demeanor, passionate delivery, and expressive eyes steal the movie (which despite the caution, he's done a fine job of describing) and make what could have easily been a camp zombie flick into a taut psychological thriller.
Murphy will soon be seen opposite compatriot Colin Farrell in the Irish crime drama Intermission, and romancing Scarlet Johansson in Girl With a Pearl Earring, based on Tracy Chevalier's novel involving the Dutch painter Jan Vermeer. And with a lead in Chekhov's The Seagull in the Edinburgh Festival scheduled for this summer, it seems this fast-rising actor's decision to leave school was a smart one.