The 'Oppenheimer' star, who famously dislikes talking about himself, spoke about his relationship to fame in a cover story for the March issue of GQ released on Tuesday.
Cillian Murphy would much rather have a chat with a fan who encounters him in the wild than take a photo with them.
Cillian Murphy in January 2024.Chris Pizzello/AP
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In the story, GQ's Daniel Riley noted that the Oscar nominee was recognised while walking the streets during their interview. Per Riley, one person asked for a photo and the actor replied, "Oh, I don't do photos." However, Murphy spoke to the fan for 20 seconds.
"Once I started doing that, it changed my life," Murphy said.
"I just think it's better to say hello, and have a little conversation," he explained. "I tell that to a lot of people, you know, actor friends of mine, and they're just like: 'I feel so bad'. But you don't need a photo record of everywhere you've been in a day."
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Cillian Murphy at the UK premiere of "Oppenheimer."Vianney Le Caer/AP
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Murphy has previously spoken about his disdain for being detected during his personal time, outside of his work obligations.
"I really don't go out much," he told The Observer in February 2022. "And people are so underwhelmed when they encounter me, so I'm very happy with that. And I'm always happy to chat. What I don't like is people surreptitiously taking photographs."
"It's so f...ing weird," Murphy said of non-discreet attempts at capturing footage of him. "I've been sat on the tube and people have started filming me."
He shared similar comments about the downside of stardom in an interview with Rolling Stone UK in May.
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"It can ruin experiences, because it fetishises everything: you can be walking down the street and someone takes a picture like this is a f...ing event," Murphy said. "It kind of destroys nuance and human behavior, but that's part and parcel of it."
The actor said that he purposely removes himself from celebrity culture.
"I don't really partake," he said. "I don't go out. I'm just at home mostly, or with my friends, unless I have a film to promote. I don't like being photographed by people. I find that offensive."
This article was originally published on Business Insider.
