Behind every successful Hollywood marriage is a couple working as teammates, ready to
make compromises.
For Cillian Murphy , he has his wife, Yvonne McGuinness . Together, they are the perfect
pair.
They have been married for nearly two decades and have two sons.
Although the actor is very private when it comes to his family, we have managed to get
all the inside details about this couple!
From how they met, to their family and the real reason behind why they choose to stay
out of the spotlight, we have it all!
Cillian Murphy is most well known for playing mobster Thomas Shelby on Peaky Blinders.
It may or may not surprise you that he is the opposite of his macho character.
"I'm not a tough guy at all so it was by far the toughest character I have ever portrayed.
You've got to commit to the material and commit to the character and his choices," he said.
Also, unlike Tommy Shelby, Murphy is a one-woman man, and he has been since 1996.
This was the year that turned out to be life-changing for the actor.
Apart from auditioning and being cast for his first acting role in the film and play
Disco Pigs, he also met his future wife, Yvonne McGuiness.
The actor admits this was the most important period of his life and the people he met at
the time, remain his closest friends who shaped him.
McGuiness even went on the Broadway tour with them.
"It was so exciting, we were all just kids, trying to find our way.
I remember the confidence of youth that you have.
Nothing seems permanent.
It was an adventure,” he said.
At the time, Murphy was a struggling actor trying to make a name for himself in the entertainment
industry, and his career and relationship with McGuinness became priorities.
Now, we obviously know the actor, but who on earth is his wife?
Yvonne is a successful visual artist who works with place, time, and community.
She studied at the Royal College of Art in London and graduated with a master’s degree
in 2003 – 7 years after she had met her now husband.
The year following her graduation, and after nearly ten years of dating, McGuinness and
Murphy tied the knot.
The ceremony took place at her father’s vineyard in Provence, France.
Wow, sounds beautiful, right?
The couple hit quite a few big milestones within the first couple of years.
In 2005, they welcomed their first son, Malachy.
They welcomed their second child, Aran, two years later.
While his wife was pregnant with Malachy, Murphy was shooting The Wind that Shakes the
Barley.
He said that filming the movie was one of his favorite acting experiences because he
was able to be close to McGuinness.
"I was living at home with my folks, my wife was pregnant with our son, and we were running
around the hills of west Cork shooting up Black and Tans.
Fantastic," he said.
The actor once said the best part of being a father was that it made him a better human
being that is more aware of what’s really important in life.
The downside, though, was the lack of sleep.
His sons also have zero interest in the details of their dad’s jobs and Cillian prefers
it that way.
"They're suitably underwhelmed by my work.
I'm trying to keep them in that state because it's such a silly industry," he said.
When it comes to their family dynamic, it's a little out of the ordinary.
Murphy's job means that for almost a decade, he's only been able to spend half of the year
at home as he's filming on location.
This is something he's always found difficult, and he thinks it is for any dad whose work
takes him away.
His work also consumes him.
"That work-life balance thing is hard.
I have an amazing wife and I couldn't do this without her and her understanding.
But it is a struggle," he said.
How hard does that sound?
Despite being a well-known actor, Murphy is more content being with his family than spending
too much time in the minds of his characters.
When he was younger, he would go too deep in with his roles, and it got to the point
where he was canceling reality.
The actor has said he would ideally like to do one job a year and spend the rest as a
“civilian”.
When the actor does have downtime with his family, they don’t go out much because he
hates the attention.
Instead, he prefers to stay at home and cook with his wife and spend time with his children.
And what’s on the menu, is very specific.
The husband and wife duo are both vegetarians.
Cillian has been a vegetarian for around 15 years because he was worried about getting
mad cow disease.
He also had qualms about unhealthy agribusiness practices.
"I was vegetarian for a long time then I relapsed and now I've relapsed back to vegetarianism.
My wife is, too.
It's so unremarkable,” he said.
Murphy did however begin eating meat again to bulk up for his role in Peaky Blinders.
He also revealed how he gets in character for the show.
"I love getting up and being someone else.
What I find hard is getting up and being hilarious or entertaining as myself.
That was never in the job description but it's an unwritten part of the gig,” he said.
Well, hopefully, Yvonne finds him amazing regardless!
But even though she is extremely supportive of her husband’s career, McGuinness is challenged
by his job.
Cillian’s intense roles have an impact on their marriage because he is a different person
during filming.
When he comes home in the evenings he does switch off and does normal things like taking
the bins out and doing dishes, but his characters seep into his mind.
There is also a period of decompression he goes through when filming wraps each season,
and he returns home.
“She says she can see a marked difference.
I'm sure I've been an asshole.
It takes time.
My wife can see it happening.
'OK.
Tommy's gradually leaving.
I'm getting Cillian back.’
It's a difficult thing living with an actor,” he said.
Other than a few tidbits, Murphy tends to keep his life as private as possible.
The actor loves to have his normal home life with his wife and kids and feels very lucky
to have it.
For him, it truly is about being at home and living a normal life.
“I try to keep that stuff private.
It’s just for us.
I want to do good work and do it well, but then be at home.
I love hanging out with my children, seeing how they behave, and stealing ideas off them.
After kids, the desire to improve as an actor remains, but time becomes hugely important,”
he said.
Cillian never wanted to see his name in lights and fame was never something that interested
him.
"The fame thing was never a goal.
I just want to improve.
If I can leave one film behind that's something that affects somebody, that's absolutely fine,"
he said.
How humble is that?
For Murphy, living an everyday life is paramount for him as an actor.
For him to play real people, living like a regular person is essential.
The less people know about the Peaky Blinders star, the more convincing he will be doing
his job.
And not chasing fame allows him to do regular activities like going to the shops, taking
the bus, and walking his dogs.
“I don't go to parties or openings, so you don't tend to end up in the paper.
I'm just the guy who sits on the train and stares at people because I'm interested in
idiosyncrasies, mannerisms, and character things," he said.
Cillian is somewhat a throwback of an actor because he’s not on social media and prefers
shaking his fans’ hands and talking to them rather than taking photos.
And he credits his wife with keeping him this grounded.
"It's very important to have somebody like that.
My life hasn't changed in any way, really.
I still have the same friends and we go to the same places," he said.
This need for privacy led Yvonne and Cillian to move from London back to their homeland,
Ireland.
They loved living in London in their 20s and 30s because it was stimulating and exciting.
Eventually, it became tedious and draining, and that is when they sought a quieter life.
“After a while you kind of go, 'Right, is this it?
Is this it for the rest of my days?
Or is there some other possibility?" he said.
The couple also wanted their children to grow up closer to their grandparents and to live
by the sea.
But more than that, they wanted their teenage sons to be Irish.
"It's amazing how quickly their accents have adapted.
Even within a year of moving back, they are fading into this rakish west Brit kind of
thing.
Which I think, hopefully, will get them lots of girls," the actor said.
Well, at least he has his priorities straight, right?
The move helped with Cillian’s bid to keep a low profile away from his acting career,
too.
"I think Irish people are generally really decent.
If they know what sort of person you are, they respect that.
We moved back about five or six years ago, and it’s been the best thing we did," he
said.
But this isn’t to say that he doesn’t enjoy some of the benefits that come with
fame.
The family of four moved into a period property that dates back to 1863 and has a drawing
room and six double bedrooms.
All for the very low-key price of €1.7million.
Cillian Murphy and Yvonne McGuinness manage to live a very private life and the actor
is adamant about keeping his relationship with his wife all to himself.
From what we do know, they seem to have built a beautiful family with a bright future ahead.
It is also safe to say that Murphy is as interesting off-screen as he is onscreen.
What do you think was the most interesting thing about this story?
Let us know in the comments below.
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