Cillian Murphy is notoriously private about his home life with his wife, Yvonne McGuinness, and their sons, Malachy, 19, and Aran, 17. But in an unprecedented move, the Peaky Blinders star’s younger son recently made a notable appearance on our screens. Last month, Cillian, 49, appeared on The Graham Norton Show alongside a star-studded lineup including Taylor Swift, Greta Lee, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Domhnall Gleeson. However, all the attention turned to the audience when the ‘Ophelia’ hitmaker pointed out Cillian’s lipstick. Taylor Swift was more than complimentary about Cillian’s boys, reflecting on the time she met them at an A-list party. Cillian explained: “‘We were at a party and I had the whole gang and my family, and my kids. I don’t think my kids were legally allowed to be there,’ he said of his teenage sons.” Taylor replied with high praise: “Your sons are the future of our world. They were such great conversationalists, they were interesting and interested, like that’s the real accomplishment.” Actress Greta Lee then asked, “They’re here aren’t they?” Cillian confirmed: “One of them is here yeah, Aran. Wait where is he? Maybe he’s not here.” The global pop sensation was quickly taken aback at how much Aran resembles his film star dad, leading Taylor to exclaim: “Oh he’s right there, you can tell!” Graham Norton agreed, adding: “Oh my god, he is so Cillian Murphy’s child. If this were a game show we’ve all just won a prize.”
Chip off the Old Block
As previously mentioned, Cillian is incredibly private about his family, with his sons making only occasional red carpet appearances. One thing the Oppenheimer actor has opened up about, however, is both his boys’ desires to follow in his acting footsteps. Cillian has confirmed this isn’t something he is putting pressure on for them to pursue. He told The Telegraph in 2024: “One of my friends saw him in a play and said, ‘Cill, he’s better looking, he’s a better actor, he’s younger, and he’s taller. You’re [expletive].’ We’ll see.” The actor added a pragmatic note on the industry: “People are smart enough to judge you on your talent. There’s no way any kid will get by on nepotism alone. Everyone in this business gets found out unless they’re good, and he’s a good little actor.” Cillian stresses the importance of choice for his son’s career path. “But we’re not putting him under any pressure. If he decides to become a musician or a poet or a farmer or a chef, that’s up to him. It may not be the thing he does, but he’s really good at it,” Cillian said of his son’s budding career. Aran is already making a name for himself professionally and is set to appear in an adaptation of Klara and the Sun , Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel, which is directed by Taika Waititi.