Cillian Murphy has been snapped looking virtually unrecognisable on the set of his new Netflix film for the first time. The Oscar-winning actor , 48, sported a scraggly grey beard streaked with ginger, alongside a longer salt and pepper hairstyle – a far cry from the clean-shaven, close-cropped look he is famed for as Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders . The Irish Oppenheimer star wore a black dry robe over his costume while shooting scenes for the movie Steve in Bath last week, with his hood pulled up to keep a low profile.
A production assistant also held an umbrella above him to further shield the 28 Days Later star from curious gazes – and the persistently dreadful British weather . When uncovered, Murphy’s costume also revealed a scruffy look for his headteacher character, for which he donned a blue suit and white unbuttoned shirt complete with a large brown stain down the front. Murphy is starring in the Netflix adaptation of Max Porter’s novel Shy.
The production follows a pivotal day in the life of Steve, a headteacher at a last-chance reform college for boys in the 1990s, as he and his students fight to stop its impending closure. Meanwhile, Murphy’s Steve is struggling with his mental health while Jay Lycurgo – who plays troubled teen Shy – is caught between the ghosts of his past and enormous questions about his future. Shooting wrapped last week on Steve, which was written for screen by Porter himself and produced by Murphy and his collaborator Alan Molo.