1996: Disco Pigs

Murphy made his professional acting debut in 1996 when he appeared in Disco Pigs as Irish teen Darren alongside his co-star Elaine Cassidy. The play was only supposed to run for three weeks in Cork, Ireland, but ended up touring throughout Europe, Canada, and Australia for two years, which ultimately helped his acting career take off. He would later reprise his role in the 2001 film adaptation of the play, although it wasn't as highly rated.

2002: 28 Days Later

Following his role in Disco Pigs, Murphy took on roles in several other plays and began working in film with some shorts and feature films like Sunburn and The Trench. It wasn't until 2002 that one of his performances got some attention—and that was his lead role in Danny Boyle's horror film 28 Days Later. The film became a hit in both the UK and the U.S. and landed Murphy a nom for Breakthrough Male Performance at the 2004 MTV Movie Awards.

2003: Intermission

In 2003, Murphy was in a stage production of The Seagull and played a minor character in the period drama film Cold Mountain. Most notably he starred in the crime comedy movie Intermission. He played John alongside Colin Farrell's petty criminal character Lehiff, and Intermission became the highest-grossing Irish indie film in the country's box office history until 2006.

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2003: Girl With a Pearl Earring

Towards the end of 2003, Murphy had a role in the film Girl With a Pearl Earring, adapted from the Tracy Chevalier novel of the same name, alongside Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth. He played a butcher named Pieter who fell in love with Johansson's character Griet, a fictional take on the model of the famous Johannes Vermeer painting Girl with a Pearl Earring. Murphy is nearly unrecognizable in the role with sandy long locks.

2005: Batman Begins

In 2005, Murphy landed the villainous role of Dr. Jonathan Crane in Batman Begins, starting his lengthy collaboration with director Christopher Nolan. He was originally asked to audition for the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman by Nolan, who had seen 28 Days Later and was impressed with Murphy's performance. However, Murphy later said he knew he wasn't right for the superhero role, and they both decided he would be better for Scarecrow. "I did the test, and then he saw something in that and cast me as Scarecrow [in Batman Begins] and we continued on making movies," Murphy said on a podcast. Murphy's take on the famous character excited comic fans and new audience members alike.

2005: Red Eye

Later that same summer, Murphy took on another villain role in the film Red Eye, a psychological thriller by the great Wes Craven. He starred as Jackson Rippner, who is seated next to Rachel McAdams' character Lisa on a plane, and quickly reveals that he is a domestic terrorist en route to an assassination. The movie cemented his ability to play the villain extremely well, but Murphy later said he wasn't its biggest fan.

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2005: Breakfast on Pluto

At the end of 2005, Murphy took on the role in Breakfast on Pluto which became one of his best-known films yet. He played the main character Patrick/"Kitten" Braden, a transgender Irish woman searching for her mother. The movie earned Murphy a Golden Globe award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, as well as other award noms and wins.

2006: The Wind That Shakes The Barley

Another movie that increased Murphy's profile was The Wind That Shakes The Barley. The film, about the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War, won the Palme d'Or at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and became the most successful Irish indie film at the Irish box office (beating out the previous record set by Intermission).

2007: Sunshine

After a brief return to the stage for the play Love Song in London, Murphy starred in Sunshine, a science fiction thriller film by Danny Boyle. He played a physicist-astronaut whose team had a directive to re-ignite the fading sun alongside costars such as Michelle Yeoh, Rose Byrne, and Chris Evans. That same year, he also had roles in Watching the Detectives and Hippie Hippie Shake.

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2008: The Edge of Love

2008 saw Murphy make a mall cameo as Scarecrow in The Dark Knight. He starred in The Edge of Love alongside Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller, and Matthew Rhys, a romantic drama about a love quadrangle during the London Blitz.

2010: Inception

In 2010, Murphy worked with Nolan again, for the science-fiction heist action film Inception. Working with stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ken Watanabe, and Marion Cotillard, Murphy played Robert Fischer—an heir to an aging business tycoon whose dreams everyone was infiltrating to plant an idea into his mind. While not the main star, his growth through the movie was critically applauded.

2012: Red Lights

After a year starring in the Enda Walsh play Misterman, Murphy had a big screen role in Red Lights. He starred in the film with Robert De Niro and Sigourney Weaver and played Tom Buckley, the assistant of Sigourney Weaver's paranormal investigator Margaret Matheson. The psychological thriller wasn't a huge hit among critics.

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2012: The Dark Knight Rises

During the same year, Murphy returned to the Batman universe once again as Scarecrow in The Dark Knight Rises. In a later interview for Entertainment Weekly, Murphy revealed he didn't even read the script before signing on for the role. "I didn't want to spoil it," he said. "So I just came in for that one day, did that little bit on that amazing set, and then waited to see the movie. And it was worth it."

2013: Peaky Blinders

In 2013, Murphy pivoted to the small screen with his iconic role as gang leader Thomas Shelby in the BBC period drama Peaky Blinders. The series is about a street gang in Birmingham during the post-World War I period. The show ran for six seasons through 2022 and could pop up again. In a February 2024 interview, Murphy said he would appear on the show again: "If there is more story to tell, and if Stephen Knight delivers a script like I know he can, then I will be there," he said. "I mean, if we want to watch 50-year-old Tommy Shelby, I will be there. Let’s do it."

2016: Free Fire

During his time on Peaky Blinders, Murphy also made time to star in a few movies. In 2014, he starred in the drama Aloft and Transcendence. In 2015, he was in the film In The Heart of the Sea. In 2016, he starred in Free Fire as well as Anthropoid, where he played Czechoslovak World War II army soldier Jozef Gabcik.

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2017: Dunkirk

Murphy returned to the World War II era with a small but memorable role in this epic historical thriller. He collaborated with Nolan again on Dunkirk, where he played an army officer recovering from a wrecked ship. His character was nameless (he is only credited as "Shivering Soldier"), but still earned Murphy critical acclaim.

2018: The Delinquent Season

In 2018, Murphy took on another romance film: The Delinquent Season, an Irish romantic drama. While it didn't take off as a hugely popular film, it's still a great performance by Murphy in a tough, knotty drama and shows that he can do it all.

2021: A Quiet Place Part II

Murphy worked alongside director John Krasinski for A Quiet Place Part II, where he played Emmett, a reclusive survivor and family friend of the Abbotts who takes them to his underground hiding place after the events of the original. Along with the rest of the cast, Murphy's performance was praised.

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2023: Oppenheimer

The summer of 2023 brought Murphy's biggest film and most acclaimed performance to date: his role as J. Robert Oppenheimer in Nolan's Oppenheimer. The movie was a huge box office hit, helped make the summer of Barbenheimer, and got Murphy to win his first Oscar—he even made history as the first Irish-born performer to win Best Actor at the Academy Awards.

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