Film And TV
18 Oct 25

Cillian Murphy on Steve: "A lot of these people who are carers, they just give and give until the well runs dry"

Cillian Murphy on <i>Steve:</i> "A lot of these people who are carers, they just give and give until the well runs dry"

Cillian Murphy and Little Simz discusses their stunning new drama Steve, in which a team of teachers attempt to mentor a group of troubled boys.

Since landing the Best Actor Oscar last year for his bravura lead performance in Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan’s epic drama about the titular nuclear scientist, Cillian Murphy has certainly been keeping busy. Having delivered another acclaimed turn in Small Things Like These, an adaptation of Claire Keegan’s novel, the 49-year-old Cork star now returns with Steve, a powerful and affecting film based on Max Porter’s novel Shy.

Set in 1996, Murphy plays the titular character, who teaches at a school – located in the English countryside – for adolescent boys from difficult backgrounds, all of whom have behavioural difficulties. Steve strikes up a particularly close connection with a pupil called Shy (Jay Lycurgo), who starts to spiral downward due to his tough family situation.

This is the cue for Steve to face his own demons, as in the background, the school’s managing trust threatens it with closure on financial grounds. Also starring as part of the teaching team are veteran actress Tracey Ullmann as Amanda, and Simbi Ajikawo, aka London rapper Little Simz, as Shola.

Given the complex work undertaken by the teachers in the film, I wonder if the actors did a lot of research?

“I come from a family of teachers, pedagogues and headmasters,” Murphy explains. “I grew up surrounded by it, and lived it as a child, both in and out of school. I got grinds from my parents and it was just everywhere in my life. It was mainstream education my parents worked in, but I felt I was very close to that vocation.

“I really wanted to approach it in a way that was kind of freefall. More reacting than acting, being buffeted by what the hell is happening. Every single minute it’s something new – some other crisis or chaos, or potential for violence. So I really went in there trying to be as open and raw as possible to what was happening.

“And we shot the whole thing in chronological order, which was a huge benefit and also added a lot to us as performers.”

Little Simz, for her part, drew on some personal connections.

“I guess just speaking to youth workers, one in particular who worked at my youth centre in north London,” she reflects. “She was a very integral part of my coming of age story as a young girl. And understanding the nuance of young people and how layered we were at the time. Even myself, I grew up with boys – that was how I came up.

“It reminded me a lot of the boys in this film. But at the time, I didn’t know the intricacies, or how delicate and fragile they were. It was very much masked with banter, masculinity and that kind of energy. So when I was talking to that social worker, she put me onto this notion where, with things like youth clubs, you don’t have to go.

“At least, it was my first real sign of independence. It was a place I’m choosing to go, a third space where I feel safe. In the film, she just wanted the young people to use her as someone to open up to. That was hard, but it was never forced upon the young people. It was about understanding that we all just want to be seen.”

Interestingly, Porter’s novel is told in the first person from Shy’s perspective, with Steve a very minor character. As such, Murphy acknowledges he didn’t initially see it as a movie.

“Max had given me a proof of the novel before it was published,” he notes. “We were good pals and this is our third piece of work together. I was just consumed by the story. It’s all in Shy’s head – completely interior from his point of view. It’s a first person perspective, so I didn’t feel there was an adaption to be had there.

“But then about two years later, we were finishing Small Things Like These, and we really loved the experience of making that film. That was my second job working with Tim Mielans, our director. I was on the phone with Max, and he came up with the idea to take the film and spin it on its axis. So we’d tell the story through the perspective of Steve, this headmaster, who’s a very minor character in the novel.

“But we’d retain Shy’s journey and have overlapping stories of these two characters, who just cannot reach each other in this day from institutional hell. So it was Max’s idea, but it came long after the book had been published.”

One of the most fascinating aspects of Steve as a character is that, in his own way, he seems almost as troubled as the kids, as he struggles to keep a lid on his alcoholism.

“We watched it last night at the premiere in London,” says Cillian. “You know that scene where he flips out at the table, when they come and tell him the school is closing? He’s acting out exactly like these kids – losing his temper and out of control. He manages to hold it together for almost all of the film, but it’s the old story of being truly unable to fix other people until you’ve fixed yourself.

“I think that’s what we were trying to show. A lot of these people who are carers, they just give and give until the well runs dry. But they’ve failed to spend any time addressing their own health, mental or physical or otherwise. We wanted to show that – that it’s a really selfless job.”

As for Shola, as a young and enthusiastic newcomer to the teaching team, she seems to be a counterpoint to the older Amanda, who seems somewhat beaten down by the experience.

“Obviously Shola is new, so there’s an element of pressure in wanting to perform well at the job,” says Simz. “She didn’t want to come across as incompetent or lacking confidence in that space, so I definitely think she felt she had something to prove. But at the same time, her and Amanda are the only women in this space. There’s a lot of male energy to cut through.

“I think she does look up to Amanda in a certain respect, because she’s held it down for so long and she’s obviously really close to Steve. So there’s a lot of wanting to understand the dynamic and do well at your job, but also still be an anchor, and strong, for the boys they’re caring for.”

Adding another dynamic is the presence of a news crew filming a documentary, and their sensationalising of the subject matter contributes to a certain outside perspective of the boys as lost causes.

“The device of the documentary crew is very clever,” says Cillian. “Because it allows us to show the view that exists, which is quite a cynical one, that these institutions are a waste of time. That these boys are lost causes, that you’re throwing money away – that they’re the problem, it’s a waste of taxpayers’ money, and they should be locked up.

“That is a point of view that exists. This film is set in 1996, and that was at the end of a long Conservative rule in Britain. In ’96, it was Cool Britannia, but there were a lot of people in Britain at the time who didn’t feel cool. Sometimes, I think it’s important to show the other point of view. To show the perspective of teachers, to show these boys are not statistics, and that they have real lives and struggles like the rest of us.

“They are a product of society’s failings, and being locked away ain’t the solution. It’s just never, ever worked, and the statistics prove that. But also, it allowed us to give face-to-face interviews with every single character, which is an amazing device to have in a feature film. You’d have it in a documentary, but we were allowed to use it in a straight narrative.”

“The interviews allow you to get into the souls, hearts and minds of these boys, and the teachers as well,” adds Simz. “Like Cillian said, it’s trying to showcase a different point of view.”

One of the most powerful scenes occurs at the end, when in a voiceover, Steve articulates the boys’ various qualities, highlighting the tremendous potential they all have, if it can be unlocked.

“It wasn’t in the book,” says Murphy. “That was written for the film. But I remember when I first read the script, that was what got me. Just the selflessness of that, the real insight into these boys – seeing beyond what they may present themselves as.

“Everything Simbi talked about – that outer shell of tough masculinity, which can be the only thing people see. And yeah, seeing their potential, and how complex and wonderful they are. And just seeing the dedication and devotion that Steve has to the kids, which the best teachers do.

“Hopefully, we’ve all had them. That thing where you get acknowledged, and it’s a different thing to what your parents can do. It’s a mentor-style relationship and hugely important. Every child should really experience it if we can manage it.”

Noted as a huge music fan – just a few days prior, he performed a surprise DJ set at Cork’s Sounds From A Safe Harbour festival – did Cillian push for the duo of Ben Salisbury and Portishead’s Geoff Barrow to do the score for Steve?

“Yes, I worked with Geoff and Ben on a previous project,” he replies. “I know Geoff for quite a while and I’m just a huge fan of their work. It goes without saying that if you have a member of Portishead, one of the most important British bands, doing the music, it really helps with the authenticity of the score. They’re an amazing duo. But Max had specially picked the drum and bass tracks – they’re written into the script and they’re in the film.

“That Kruder & Dorfmeister track at the beginning, which I used to have on cassette, is specifically written into the script. And then for us, the idea we could have a Little Simz track at the end was just absolutely staggering and mindblowing. And that it could be written from the point of view of someone who was actually in the film, but also someone who was a major artist – an artist that we adore – that was the absolute icing on the cake.”

As Little Simz acknowledges, being able to contribute music to Steve was a wonderful bonus.

“I was so grateful that I was able to contribute to the film in that way,” she enthuses. “And to give back to Shy. Even if I couldn’t physically tell this character myself, I just want him to know that he is seen, felt and heard. That’s what I wanted the song to entail. And also the duality of making it feel really emotional and tender in moments. But he loves jungle and drum and bass, so we added those elements as well.”

Steve is on Netflix now.