Cillian Murphy on the Album That Shaped His Creative Life

Cillian Murphy has finally shared a secret that has quietly guided him for decades — and fans say it explains everything about his career.

In a recent interview with NME, the Oppenheimer star revealed that his all-time favorite album is The Beatles’ Abbey Road. The Irish actor, now promoting his new drama Steve alongside British rapper and actor Little Simz, described the 1969 record as a journey that has stayed with him for more than 35 years.

“Abbey Road was like traveling through something,” Murphy said, his voice lighting up as he recalled his first encounter with the music.

A Lifelong Obsession Begins at a Library

Murphy grew up in Cork, Ireland, where music was a constant in his family home. His father, a devoted Beatles fan, introduced him to the band’s greatest hits. But it was a visit to the city library that changed everything.

“When I was very young… we used to go to the city library and rent cassettes,” he shared. “I remember renting Abbey Road because my dad had the greatest hits. I listened to it over and over — the second half, that whole McCartney collage, is just incredible virtuosity. It always felt like traveling through something.”

That fascination deepened over the years. “Then I ended up living near Abbey Road,” Murphy added with a laugh. “So bizarre. It just became like a road.”

Music Before Acting

The revelation doesn’t come as a shock to longtime fans. Murphy has often spoken about how music was his first creative love — long before acting.

“I hate to talk about myself, but talking about music, I’m happy,” he told the Irish Times in 2023. “Music was my first love. I had ambitions to be a musician, way before I ever thought about becoming an actor.”

As a child, he spent evenings at traditional Irish music sessions, sometimes falling asleep under pub tables while the sound of fiddles and flutes filled the air. “My first connection with anything artistic or creative was music,” he said, recalling how he and his friends would tape borrowed cassettes to build their own collections.

Why Abbey Road Still Matters

Murphy’s passion for Abbey Road — home to classics like Come Together and Here Comes the Sun — reflects his taste for layered, thoughtful storytelling. The album’s second side famously weaves multiple songs into a single, flowing suite — a structure some fans now say mirrors the emotional depth and understated complexity of his performances.

Even his Steve co-star Little Simz seemed caught off guard by the depth of his answer. While she named Frank Ocean’s Nostalgia Ultra as her favorite record, Murphy’s poetic take on Abbey Road left her impressed.

For an artist who has built a career on quiet intensity and creative risk-taking, it’s no wonder an album defined by reinvention and sonic adventure has remained his touchstone.

And for fans, Murphy’s 18-word confession — “Abbey Road was like traveling through something — and I’ve been traveling ever since,” — suddenly makes perfect sense.