Bill Murphy (Irish Actor)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

William A. Murphy (born 14 February 1963), better known as Bill Murphy, is an Irish theatre and screen actor, writer and producer. He has appeared in films such as ''
Ordinary Decent Criminal ''Ordinary Decent Criminal'' is a 2000 crime comedy film, directed by Thaddeus O'Sullivan, written by Gerard Stembridge, and stars Kevin Spacey and Linda Fiorentino. The film is loosely based on the story of Martin Cahill, a famous Irish crim ...
'' (2000), '' My Brother's War'' (1997), '' Criminal Affairs'' (1997) and '' Moving Target'' (2000). He has also had roles in TV series such as ''Jack Taylor'' (2010)'', Titanic: Blood and Steel'' (2012), '' Vikings: Valhalla'' (2022) and '' The Gone'' (2023), and he portrayed Nick Barret on the
RTÉ One RTÉ One is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by RTÉ. It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís Éireann'' on 31 December 1961, it was renamed ''R ...
soap opera ''
Fair City ''Fair City'' is an Irish television soap opera which has been broadcast on RTÉ One since 1989. Produced by the public service broadcaster RTE, it first aired on Monday, 18 September 1989. It has won several awards and is both the most po ...
'' in 2003. He has had roles in theatre and concert productions of ''Once (The Musical)'' (2015–2024), '' The Country Girls'' (2019), and ''Joyce's Women'' (2022). In 2022 he wrote, produced and starred in the short film ''Lily's Theme.''


Early life and education

Murphy was born William A. Murphy in
Cork City Cork ( ; from , meaning 'marsh') is the second-largest city in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the county town of County Cork, the largest city in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the List of settlements on the island of Ireland ...
,
County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...
. He began his career in Cork while training with the Irish Opera Repertory Company before moving to
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
to continue his training with the Focus Theatre.


Career


Feature films

Murphy's feature film credits include '' Criminal Affairs'' (1997) starring
Louis Mandylor Louis Mandylor (born Elias Theodosopoulos; 13 September 1966) is an Australian film and television actor. Mandylor is best known for playing Nikos "Nick" Portokalos in the ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding'' franchise (2002-2023). Early life Mandylor ...
and James Marshall, '' My Brother's War'' (1997) starring Josh and
James Brolin Craig Kenneth Bruderlin (born July 18, 1940), known professionally as James Brolin, is an American actor. Brolin has won two Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globes and an Emmy Awards, Emmy. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August ...
, ''
Ordinary Decent Criminal ''Ordinary Decent Criminal'' is a 2000 crime comedy film, directed by Thaddeus O'Sullivan, written by Gerard Stembridge, and stars Kevin Spacey and Linda Fiorentino. The film is loosely based on the story of Martin Cahill, a famous Irish crim ...
'' (2000) starring
Kevin Spacey Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. Known for Kevin Spacey on screen and stage, his work on stage and screen, he List of awards and nominations received by Kevin Spacey, has received numerous accolades, including two ...
, Linda Fiorentino and
Colin Farrell Colin James Farrell (; born 31 May 1976) is an Irish actor. A Leading actor, leading man in blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters and independent films since the 2000s, he has received various List of awards and nominations received by Col ...
, ''Moving Target'' (2000) starring
Don "The Dragon" Wilson Donald Glen Wilson (born September 10, 1954), nicknamed "The Dragon", is an American martial artist, former professional kickboxer, and actor. An 11-time world champion who scored 47 knockouts in four decades, he has been called by the STAR Sys ...
, and ''The Cabin'' (2011) starring
Steven Brand Steven Brand (born 1969) is a Scottish actor. His feature debut was ''The Scorpion King'' (2002), where he portrayed Memnon. He has had many guest appearances on television series, and in 2015, Brand was nominated for Best Guest Starring Role ...
and
Lea Thompson Lea Katherine Thompson (born May 31, 1961) is an American actress, singer, dancer and director. She is best known for her roles as Lorraine Baines-McFly in the ''Back to the Future'' film trilogy (1985–1990), Beverly Switzler in ''Howard t ...
.


TV series

In 2003, Murphy portrayed the character Nick Barret in the
RTÉ One RTÉ One is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by RTÉ. It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís Éireann'' on 31 December 1961, it was renamed ''R ...
soap opera ''
Fair City ''Fair City'' is an Irish television soap opera which has been broadcast on RTÉ One since 1989. Produced by the public service broadcaster RTE, it first aired on Monday, 18 September 1989. It has won several awards and is both the most po ...
''. Murphy is also credited with roles in ''Jack Taylor'' (2010) starring
Iain Glen Iain Alan Sutherland Glen (born 24 June 1961) is a Scottish actor. He has appeared as Dr. Alexander Isaacs/Tyrant in three films of the Resident Evil (film series), ''Resident Evil'' film series (2004–2016) and as Ser Jorah Mormont, Jorah Morm ...
and in '' Titanic: Blood and Steel'' (2012) with
Kevin Zegers Kevin Zegers (born September 19, 1984) is a Canadian actor. He is known for his roles as Josh Framm in the ''Air Bud'' film series, Toby Osbourne in '' Transamerica'' (2005), Damien Dalgaard in the CW teen drama ''Gossip Girl'', and as rookie ...
and
Derek Jacobi Sir Derek George Jacobi (; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen as well as for his work at the Royal National Theatre, he has received numerous accolades including a Tony Award, a BAFTA Award, two ...
. In 2022, Murphy featured as the character Øgda in Season 1 of the
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
series '' Vikings: Valhalla'', a spin-off of the popular TV Series ''Vikings'' by Michael Hirst. In 2023, Murphy appeared as Superintendent Walsh in the RTÉ and
TVNZ Television New Zealand (, "Te Reo Tātaki" meaning "The Leading Voice"), more commonly referred to as TVNZ, is a New Zealand state-owned media company and Crown entity. The company operates a television network, streaming service, and news se ...
coproduction of '' The Gone''.


Theatre

Murphy has worked in numerous Irish theatres, notably The Gate Theatre, The Gaiety Theatre, The Olympia Theatre and The Abbey Theatre. He has had roles in stage productions of ''Jack and the Beanstalk'' (2000), ''Annie'' (2001),'', The Chastitute'' (2001), ''The Plough and the Stars'' (2003), ''Sweeney Todd'' (2007), ''Beauty and the Beast'' (2008), ''Macbeth'' (2012) and ''Threepenny Opera'' (2013). From 2015 to 2017, Murphy portrayed the character 'Da' in the Dublin and Seoul productions of ''Once (The Musical)'' directed by
John Tiffany John Richard Tiffany (born ) is an English theatre director. He directed the internationally successful productions '' Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'', '' Black Watch'' and '' Once''. He has won 2 Tony Awards, an Olivier Award, a Drama De ...
. He later reprised this role in 2023 during the China Tour of ''Musical: Once'' directed by Dean Johnson, and again in 2024 during the Taiwan tour. In 2019, Murphy appeared in the national theatre production of Edna O'Brien's '' The Country Girls''. In 2020, he featured in the Abbey Theatre productions ''Dear Ireland Continues''. In September 2022, Murphy portrayed the character of Zozimus in the Abbey Theatre coproduction of ''Joyce's Women'', written by Edna O'Brien.


Short films

In 2019, Murphy featured in the short film ''Close to Nothing at All'' directed by Lisa Maria Brockli. In 2022, Murphy wrote, produced and starred in the short film ''Lily's Theme'', directed by Frank W. Kelly, which premiered at the Boyne Valley International Film Festival 2022.


Personal life

Murphy is married to actress and singer Eileen O'Sullivan. They have two children.


Selected filmography

* " Criminal Affairs" (1997) as Sherriff Madsen * "
Spacejacked ''Spacejacked'' is a 1997 American-Irish film. It was made for Concorde Anois, a studio Roger Corman ran in Galway.Spacejacked Slifkin, Irv. Video Business; Radnor Vol. 18, Iss. 32, (Aug 10, 1998): 17. Plot In the near future, a spaceship on a l ...
" (1997) as Jack * " My Brother's War" (1997) as Paddy * "
Ordinary Decent Criminal ''Ordinary Decent Criminal'' is a 2000 crime comedy film, directed by Thaddeus O'Sullivan, written by Gerard Stembridge, and stars Kevin Spacey and Linda Fiorentino. The film is loosely based on the story of Martin Cahill, a famous Irish crim ...
" (2000) as Barry * " Moving Target" (2000) as Mickey * " Jack Taylor" (2010, TV Series) as Ford * " Titanic: Blood and Steel" (2012, TV Mini Series) as Bremner * " Vikings: Valhalla" (2022, TV Series) as Øgda * " The Gone" (2023, TV Series) as Superintendent Walsh


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Bill 1963 births Living people Male actors from Cork (city)