Cillian Murphy says he’s ‘too old’ to play James Bond as he praises his ‘great’ actor son – exclusive

As Cillian Murphy comes to the end of his incredible Oppenheimer tour, with a possible Oscar at the Academy Awards on March 10, all eyes are looking to the future, and the rumors that he is in the running to play the next James Bond. 

But the 47-year-old Irish actor thinks everyone should hold their horse, because he believes he is “a bit too old for that”. When asked by HELLO! if he would want to play the iconic spy, Cillian’s simple answer appeared to shut down the claims that although Bond producer Barbara Broccoli has her eye on him, he doesn’t seem to want to pick up Bond’s Walther PPK. 

Cillian’s sons Aran, 17, and Malachy, 18, are both interested in the entertainment industry, with youngest son Aran already working on his first movie, Taiki Waititi’s next project. 

“I’m very, very proud of him, he’s a great, great actor,” said Cillian, admitting that his son didn’t need any advice from his father. 

The Oppenheimer actor was at the Oscar Wilde Awards, organized by the US-Irish Alliance, and where Pierce Brosnan, who played the fifth Bond, was being honored for his contributions to cinema. Cillian told HELLO! that he had been a fan of Pierce’s since the 1982 drama Remington Steele, and admitted that every time he sees his fellow countryman they “just chat”, with the notoriously quiet actor adding: “He’s a lovely man.” 

© Variety

It’s been a year to remember for Cillian, and he added that he “this has been such a ride on something I’ll never forget from my life,”  adding that his biggest takeaway would be the friends he had made. 

Cillian has been married to his wife, Yvonne McGuinness, since 2004 after they met at one of his rock band’s shows in 1996. She has been by his side this awards season, and is expected to be sat alongside him on Sunday as he discovers if he has won his first Oscar; he will also be the first Irish actor to have ever won. 

© Variety

Also at the Oscar Wilde Awards were Jane Seymour, who stars in Harry Wild, a detective drama series set in Ireland, and Samantha Mumba, the former pop star who has spent the last 20 years living in LA and also appears in Harry Wild.

Jane praised Pierce, whom she has been friends with for years as a “terrific actor and a lovely guy,” and mentioned that the pair have been trying to find a project to work on together for years, adding: “I think we could do anything but I think something comedic – or a rom com, I think.”