It’s a well-known fact that being famous requires a lot of standing around and having your picture taken, either in public, on a red carpet or at a press event.
But while most – yes, most – famous people possess exceptional talents, not all of them are naturals when it comes to the art of celebrity.
And it would appear that one of those individuals is actor Cillian Murphy, with fans concerned that he’d skipped this year’s Oscars altogether after he was absent from the red carpet.
Cillian Murphy skipped the red carpet but showed up to present Peaky Blinders co-star Adrien Brody with the Best Actor gong (Gilbert Flores/Penske Media via Getty Images)
“Not Cillian Murphy skipping the red carpet,” one viewer reacted on social media, while a second added: “Cillian Murphy is pulling the Meryl Streep move and skips the red carpet.”
Fortunately, the Irish actor hadn’t forgotten about the Academy Awards altogether and gave us a brief Peaky Blinders reunion when he presented Adrien Brody with the Best Actor gong for his role in The Brutalist.
Perhaps red carpets just aren’t his thing.
One person who would certainly agree with the idea that Murphy doesn’t enjoy the celebrity side of being famous is Emily Blunt, who once branded the 48-year-old the ‘worst celebrity in the world’.
She shared the observation during an interview with 60 Minutes last year, when asked if the 28 Days Later star knew how to ‘handle a compliment’.
“No, I don’t think so. I don’t know if any of the great actors know or would say that about themselves,” the actress responded.
“I feel he’s always in search, he’s looking off the horizon, looking at what else [he] could do, how far [he] could push it.”
Emily Blunt previously referred to Murphy as ‘the best actor in the world and the worst celebrity in the world’ (60 Minutes)
She continued: “What will satiate this creative fire in him. I think it would be so painful for him to acknowledge how good he is, I don’t see that happening.”
The interviewer then suggested that Murphy was passionate about his work as an actor but not the celebrity side of things, to which Blunt agreed.
“He’s the worst celebrity in the world,” she replied.
“He’s the best actor in the world and the worst celebrity in the world.”
Going on to explain why she believes Murphy is the ‘best actor’ in the world, the Devil Wears Prada star added: “He’s my favourite actor to work with. He’s unparalleled in what he can do and how he pulls you in. The whole room crackles with a certain life force when you work with him.”
