Cillian Murphy struggles to save a school and himself in Netflix’s ‘Steve’

Cillian Murphy is swapping atomic bombs for emotional blowouts in his next big role, and Netflix just dropped a first look of ‘Steve’ that already has fans talking.

Fresh off his Oscar win for ‘Oppenheimer’, Murphy is diving into darker, more intimate territory with ‘Steve’, a drama based on Max Porter’s 2023 novella ‘Shy’.

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Directed by Tim Mielants, who previously worked with Murphy on ‘Small Things Like These’, the film is set in the 1990s and follows one intense day in the life of Steve, a headteacher at a last-chance reform school on the verge of being shut down.

Netflix released the first image from ‘Steve’, and it shows Cillian Murphy in character: brooding, burdened, and worlds away from the cool confidence of Thomas Shelby or the genius of J. Robert Oppenheimer.

 

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This time, he plays a man unraveling at the seams while trying to hold a broken system, and a group of troubled students, together.

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The plot unfolds against the backdrop of a school that society has given up on. As Steve fights to save it, he also wrestles with his own crumbling mental health. Alongside him is Shy, played by ‘Titans’ actor Jay Lycurgo, a 27-year-old navigating trauma, rage, and the constant threat of self-destruction.

The story parallels their struggles, a man nearing collapse and a boy on the brink, both trying to find meaning in a system that offers little hope.

Joining Murphy and Lycurgo in the cast are Tracey Ullman, Simbi Ajikawo (better known as rapper Little Simz), and Emily Watson.

Murphy also steps behind the scenes as a producer, alongside Alan Moloney and Tina Pawlik, with Max Porter serving as executive producer.

And for fans wondering if Murphy will ever return to his apocalyptic roots, he is. Director Danny Boyle confirmed the ’28 Days Later’ sequel, ‘The Bone Temple’, is in the works and Murphy ‘will’ appear, continuing his collaboration with Boyle that started over two decades ago.