Cillian Murphy on his breakthrough role in 28 Days Later

Following his starring role in the Oscar-sweeping film Oppenheimer, Irish actor Cillian Murphy sat down with the SAG-AFTRA Foundation for a nearly 90-minute conversation about his career on stage and screen, particularly his experience on the 28 Days Later set in 2002.

The hit psychological thriller, written by Alex Garland and directed by Danny Boyle, quickly became Murphy's claim to fame. Starring as a bicycle courier who wakes from a coma 28 days after an aggression-inducing virus has turned society on its head, Murphy admits that he didn’t consider the film to be a part of the zombie movie trope when he was cast.

“I wasn’t too aware we were making a zombie movie, to be honest with you,” noted Murphy. “It was right around the time SARS happened and there was all this ‘air rage’ stuff going on. So I never felt it was a zombie film.”

The actor went on to note the movie’s significance during the era of COVID-19. “The amount of memes — I do know what a meme is — that everybody sent me during the pandemic of 28 Days Later was crazy,” Murphy said. “It just shows that good writing is prescient, it always remains prescient and relative.”

Murphy later discussed his thoughts on the two possible endings for the film - one in which Jim survives and the other in which he dies. While both versions were shot during production, Boyle and Garland ultimately decided to keep Murphy’s character alive.

“I think when I was younger and a bit more nihilist… I liked the image of two women surviving at the end and fuck the man,” Murphy explained. “But I think they wanted the version with hope.”

After years of rumors surrounding a potential sequel, fans were thrilled to receive official confirmation in January that a part two is in the works. Potentially serving as the second installation in a new trilogy, Boyle and Garland with return, joined by Murphy as an executive producer, for an exciting new chapter.