Cillian Murphy might not be a big fan of Red Eye, his 2005 airplane-set thriller with Rachel McAdams—which we totally love, BTW—but there is one movie in his decades-spanning filmography that he is more than happy to rewatch.
While promoting his follow-up to Oppenheimer, the Netflix drama Small Things Like These, the Irish actor sat down with Variety, where he discussed the upcoming new entry to the 28 Days Later franchise. Director Danny Boyle, screenwriter Alex Garland and star Murphy will reunite for 28 Years Later, though the latter has so far only signed on as a producer on the long-awaited horror sequel, leaving fans wondering if he will reprise his role as Jim in the movie. Now Murphy has divulged that although, like most actors, he never rewatches the movies he stars in, he makes an exception for 28 Days Later. He told the outlet:
I never watch my own films, except that one. It’s always on around Halloween and during the pandemic people were constantly sending me clips. And I’ve shown it to my kids. And it’s really stood up, even though it’s something like 23 years old now. So I’m really thrilled that we’ll get the band back together to makes this one.
When it hit theaters in 2002, 28 Days Later not only revitalized, but also revolutionized the zombie genre, standing out from the undead pack thanks to its depiction of the infected as freakishly fast and strong. Along with Cillian playing bike messenger Jim—who wakes up from a coma to discover a dangerous virus has ravaged the world—the horror film also starred Naomie Harris, Megan Burns, Brendan Gleeson and Christopher Eccleston.
Boyle released a sequel, 28 Weeks Later, in 2007, set after the events of the first film, but Murphy didn’t take part in that movie. As for whether Jim the courier will be back onscreen in 28 Years Later, the actor told Variety:
I can’t give much more at this point. But I’ve always said I would love to be involved because that movie changed everything for me and I have great affection for it and for those guys Alex [Garland] and Danny [Boyle].
Though the Oscar nominee recently admitted to GQ that he used to avoid watching his films if he’d heard they weren’t good, his more recent work as a producer has helped him view his own performances “in a very objective, clinical way.” Per Variety, he said the following of rewatching his breakout performance in 28 Days Later:
I was not as hypercritical as I anticipated I would be. I’ve gotten better at it because I exec produced the last three seasons of ‘Peaky,’ so I was very involved in all of that, the cutting and the editing, and then producing ‘Small Things.’ So you have to get over yourself and watch it and just watch it in a very objective, clinical way, just looking for stories beats. So that’s been very educational for me recently, and I’ve enjoyed that.
Stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for all of the latest updates about 28 Years Later, including whether Cillian Murphy will return as Jim and whether the actor will be watching the horror sequel when it comes out.