Автор: Matthew Hays

The role of the crossdressing Ms. Kitten in Breakfast on Pluto is a perfect fit for Cillian Murphy.

Playing a transvestite can really put the brakes on a man's career. But when Cillian Murphy was offered the chance to play a tranny named Kitten in Neil Jordan's Breakfast on Pluto, he accepted the role without hesitation. "To me, someone's sexuality is usually the least interesting thing about them. It's secondary," says Murphy. "The only reason it becomes a source for dramatic storytelling is because people have made such an issue out of it."

Almost two years ago, Strut flew out to Ireland to meet with Murphy and photograph him for our cover following his performance in Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later... Anyone who hadn't seen the film was probably unfamiliar with Murphy at the time, but anyone who had, knew why we needed to feature the actor. He not only had the kind of good looks that drive Hollywood casting agents mad, he also had the talent to satisfy the requirements of even the most demanding directors. The fame thing was just beginning to happen to him then, but Murphy was more apprehensive about Hollywood stardom than he was keen on sampling the perks that go with having a recognizable face. His big Hollywood blockbuster debut came this past summer as the evil genius in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins and as the psychotic sadist in Wes Craven's Red Eye. We recently met with Murphy in Toronto to see how his life has changed. And we were pleased to discover that it's much the same. He still occasionally plays with his Frank Zappa-influenced band, Sons of Mr. Greengenes. He's still a vegetarian. He's still a heartthrob, although he is now married to his long-time girlfriend, Yvonne McGuinness.

TGs and the IRA

Breakfast on Pluto has echoes of Jordan's 1992 Oscar-winner The Crying Game. Both films have transvestites mixed up with the IRA gunrunners. The premise may sound odd— and it is, in the best kind of way—but Pluto was one of the standout hits of this year's Toronto International Film Festival and it features Murphy's most accomplished performance to date. "Okay, so it's a cliché," Murphy warns. "But this really is the role of a career."

For Murphy, playing Patrick Brady (sic), a.k.a. Kitten, meant finding a balance between humour and pathos. Kitten is an innocent and entirely naive lad who wants nothing more than to wear lasses' clothing and seek out his long-lost mother. "Kitten is such a good, dear soul," says Murphy. "She's the hardest character I've ever played. She's so sweet and well-intentioned. She wants nothing more than to be held and loved. She's so vulnerable, so quick to trust. There are some serious fucking gear shifts in this movie. And if the audience isn't invested in the character, you have nothing. I had to make Kitten real, for me and for the audience."

Despite the challenge of playing a transvestite, Murphy was actually relieved to play a likeable character. After all, the previous film season had seen him play a nutty scientist and a terrorist (in Batman Begins and Red Eye respectively). And although Cillian isn't exactly Christopher Walken-esque in appearance, he doesn't want to wind up always playing the mad characters. "I'm not worried about being pegged, but it's important for me to knock down any perceptions of me that are out there. Roles don't really stick with me—you become highly qualified in something for a time and then it disappears."

This, Murphy explains, became part of the actor's journey—to create this character, a man who really feels he's actually a woman. "I went out with some transvestite blokes in London for a few nights," he says. "We went out to some gay clubs and bars there, and I was dressed in drag too. I just observed them. They are very smart and extremely acerbic. They are very protective of each other. You see why their skin is so thick, because they got yelled at on the street. We had a lot of fun, though."

And on perfecting his feminine gait, he says: "I watched my sister a lot. I looked at women around me. I knew I had to make the character very feminine. A lot of gay men do a very showy thing if they're acting up and acting feminine. I wanted it to be natural, because that's the way that Kitten always is." Not surprisingly, Murphy is appalled by George Bush's proposed constitutional amendment to limit legal marriage to opposite-sex couples. "That man makes my skin crawl."

Indeed, Kitten is actually more of a quintessentially Irish character, in the tradition of the characters of James Joyce or Oscar Wilde. "She's the ultimate outsider—misunderstood, a loner, someone who goes against the grain but maintains this sweet, optimistic outlook on life. But it's the best kind of Irish art, because it is very specifically Irish while also universal. I always say I'm an actor who happens to be Irish, not an Irish actor."

Next up for Murphy is another Boyle movie, this one tentatively titled Sunshine, a sci-fi film about a group of astronauts who travel to the sun. "To me, Danny Boyle and Neil Jordan are the best kind of filmmakers. They take for granted the intelligence of their audience. They know that you will go with the characters if there's something to connect with. Too many filmmakers today are trying to put their work into a box. I can't stand that! Making movies is a lot of work. Let's take some risks."