There is a delicate balance between obtaining fame and genetically engineering fame, a la Beckham and Robbie Williams. In the acting world you have to pull the right strings, but pull the wrong ones and you will indeed go into orbit, but also come crashing down.

Cillian (original name form spelt Killian) was born 29 years ago in Douglas, just on the edge of Cork city. The eldest of three, he came from a very ordinary family. His mother was a French teacher and his father worked for the Dept. of Education, while Cillian himself went to the Presentation Brothers College where he played on the school rugby team. It really was in Cork that he began his slow but sure rise in the acting profession. From school he went on to study law in university whilst keeping his interests in amateur acting and jazz music.

He his (sic) break point came when he was performing in a tiny theatre in Cork, a play called Disco Pigs written by Enda Walsh; this was his gateway out of UCC. Kirsten Sheriden (sic) (daughter of Irish film mogul Liam Sheridan) saw his potential and the movie possibilities of Disco Pigs. She went on to make the film, that made Hollywood sit up. Sub titled (sic) "90 Minutes you will never forget." I am glad to see that the films website is still up and running because the opening music is haunting and is worth having on in the background. www.discopigs.com. It was written by Gavin Friday.

It was at times a violent film but Sheridan's imagery was superb especially the opening scenes of a foetus in a womb. It was about a modern day love/bonding story, where Murphy played the part of [an] out of control Cork youth obsessed with the dysfunctional girl next door. His Cork accent had to be sub titled (sic) upon release "Down under" in an effort to ease comprehension problems! The film scored middle ratings upon release, but exposed Murphy to a vast audience.

Needless to say, it didn't go to his head. He continued on threading (sic) the boards in Ireland to packed houses. His acting versatility showed no bounds and more especially so with his ability to change accents. Media reviews and articles were becoming more and more frequent and soon, he stirred the feelings of the gay quarter, who began to talk about him and post messages on BBs. Perhaps one would call it, rugged attractiveness, but those lips of his proved to be a drool factor. I remember seeing him at The Gate theatre in Dublin acting for quite a bit of the play dressed in only his underwear. Meanwhile we were playing "spot the queen" in the audience.

His next film break came later on in 2001 in a film directed by John Carney called On the Edge. Set in a Dublin psychiatric hospital, it deals with the serious topic of teenage suicide. It tells of the interpersonal relationships amongst three inmates and Murphy's relationship with the in-house shrink. His love-hate relationship with the latter and the emotion filled acting spurred on his Hollywood career. Around this time too, our own Colin Farrell broke through the ice and went on, as we all know, to become hot property and the column inches written in the tabloids for his "off-set" forays proved that.

Meanwhile the cute Corkonian played his cards close to his chest and maintained his composure and avoided the celeb circuit while giving enough media exposure through availability and interviews. It was a slow haul since his first forays into the screen world back in '97 but steady and sure never the less. Unlike Colin Farrell, Murphy still returns to thread (sic) the boards no later than last autumn when he was playing in The Druids version of Playboy of the Western World.

As of this month Murphy is talking with Liam Neeson to star in Neil Jordan's new film Breakfast on Pluto. It is hoped to start shooting this in September '04 and tells the story of Patrick Braden (Murphy) who escapes from his foster home in small town Ireland and travels to London to become a Transvestite!! The mind boggles. So that's one to watch out for. And if you are starved of more information on this Irish actor you can visit the many online shrines to him or join a Yahoo groups site dedicated to Cillian.

Cillian now lives in London with his g/f and continues to "make the right moves" whilst not forgetting his origins. Long may it last?