didn鈥檛 read looking for a film to do. He was simply a fan of the author, Claire Keegan.
Her story, nominated for the Booker Prize, was a work of historical fiction about the and an ordinary man with repressed trauma who can鈥檛 force himself to look away over Christmas in 1985. The beauty of the prose and complexities of the themes lingered in Murphy鈥檚 mind. The Irish actor had also been thinking about starting his own production company. Miraculously, the rights were available.
As a nod to the film, opening in North American theaters on Friday, Murphy and his producing partner Alan Moloney named their company Big Things Films.
鈥淲e were like, if you call it Small Things Films, it would show a real lack of ambition,鈥� Murphy said with a little laugh. 鈥淲e thought better call it Big Things Films.鈥�
鈥淪mall Things Like These鈥� was made after but , which Murphy is still processing. Work is keeping him busy, though. His company already has another film in post-production, 鈥淪teve,鈥� based on Max Porter鈥檚 novel 鈥淪hy.鈥� And in September, he started filming the 鈥淧eaky Blinders鈥� movie.
Murphy spoke to The Associated Press, before heading off to 鈥淧eaky Blinders,鈥� about being a 鈥渟erial re-collaborator,鈥� the humbling and passive experience of winning the Oscar and pitching the film during a night shoot on 鈥淥ppenheimer.鈥� Remarks have been edited for clarity and brevity.
AP: What made you want to see Claire鈥檚 book as a film?
MURPHY: It鈥檚 a seemingly simple story, but it鈥檚 actually incredibly complex the way it talks about society and complicity and shame and guilt and secrecy and fear and all those things. I felt like it had a lot to offer audiences.
AP: And as an actor, what opportunities did you see with your character?
MURPHY: It鈥檚 a male protagonist written by a woman, but it鈥檚 a story about women. That was quite interesting and unconventional. And the story really begins when the film ends. The real drama happens afterwards. And I think that鈥檚 just so unconventional and quite radical. The reason Bill is the man that he is, is because of what happened to him as a child and this act of charity that his mother experienced. And then these awful acts of cruelty that these other girls are experiencing 鈥� that鈥檚 what鈥檚 bringing him to this place in his life.
Claire had actually said in a podcast, someone said 鈥渙h it鈥檚 such an heroic act鈥� and she said 鈥渘o, he鈥檚 not a hero, he鈥檚 just someone who's having a nervous breakdown.鈥� I thought that was really smart. And that鈥檚 kind of how I tried to play it.
It all comes back, as it tends to with men, in middle age. They begin to really sense their mortality and they have kids of their own. That鈥檚 when it all seems to come crashing down on them. And it鈥檚 so beautifully observed by Claire and Enda (Walsh).
AP: There are a lot of people involved in this film that you鈥檝e worked with before, from the director, Tim Mielants (鈥淧eaky Blinders鈥�) to your 鈥淒isco Pigs鈥� friends (playwright Enda Walsh and actor Eileen Walsh, who plays Bill鈥檚 wife). Why did you call on them?
MURPHY: I鈥檓 a kind of a serial re-collaborator. I just love working with people again. And I really firmly believe you got the best work from trust and from friendship. Enda I鈥檝e worked with in a theater like four or five times and, and he鈥檚 just generally brilliant. I knew that he loved Claire鈥檚 book and that he would understand that world. And Eileen, it鈥檚 very hard to act 20 years of history, but when you have 28 years of history, you get it for free. She鈥檚 just a phenomenally powerful actor. She can kind of do anything.
AP: Matt Damon also is a producer though Artists Equity. How did that come about?
MURPHY: My producing partner was working with Matt on the U2 documentary about Sarajevo, and I was working with Matt on 鈥淥ppenheimer.鈥� It was a pincer movement. I remember it was like a night shoot in the desert somewhere, and we were waiting for the rain to pass or the lights to be fixed. And he was telling me about . I said well, I happen to have this script, and I gave it to him. He鈥檚 got such great taste. He鈥檚 such a great filmmaker and actor, just a legend and just a lovely human being. He just really understands these sorts of stories. And immediately he said, yeah, we鈥檙e on.
AP: Do you feel like the and somehow helped this film get more interest from U.S. distributors?
MURPHY: I鈥檓 not aware of it, really, because it feels so brand new and so fresh. You know, it鈥檚 very hard to kind of speak about it because it was a hugely humbling and almost passive experience, because you don鈥檛 really have any control over other people voting on the work that you did. But if it allows us to tell the sorts of stories that I鈥檇 like to tell, which have a point of view, which have something to say, then I鈥檒l take it.
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
