Some actors perform; Cillian Murphy quietly detonates the screen. After chilling audiences as Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders and winning the Academy Award for Oppenheimer with Christopher Nolan, Murphy sits comfortably among this generation’s finest. Yet, glittering as Murphy’s career appears, even an actor with a golden statue occasionally scans the horizon for the next role.

While speaking with Entertainment Weekly about what it feels like to suddenly be introduced as an Academy Award winner during promotions for Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, Cillian Murphy seemed charmingly unfazed. Although the star did describe it as a maddening experience, he also said that he will have to keep hustling due to the fear of unemployment.

"You're always scared about unemployment, even at this stage." Murphy said the line with a laugh, adding that acting remains a profession built on momentum rather than trophies.

Fortunately for Murphy, unemployment may not be knocking anytime soon. Beyond Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, the actor has several projects lined up, including a new film directed by Oscar-winning director Damien Chazelle. He is also reportedly producing upcoming Peaky Blinders  spinoffs.

Even so, Murphy’s words ring true, since Hollywood history shows that even Oscar winners must keep hustling to stay employed.

How Hollywood history proves Cillian Murphy has a point

Hollywood loves a breakthrough story, but it has a short memory for what comes after. Ke Huy Quan learned this after the childhood triumphs of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies. The roles that once arrived so easily gradually disappeared, turning early stardom into decades of waiting for meaningful work. Nonetheless, he eventually found redemption, even earning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once.

That pattern is not limited to child actors. Halle Berry’s historic Best Actress win for Monster’s Ball was expected to trigger a flood of offers. Instead, Berry later revealed that industry hesitation persisted.

The pattern continued for others as well. Marlee Matlin won Best Actress at just twenty-one for Children of a Lesser God, a victory that should have secured long-term stability. Instead, Hollywood struggled to imagine roles for a Deaf performer outside disability narratives, forcing Matlin to build a career through television and persistence.

Stories like these explain why actors such as Cillian Murphy never fully stop worrying about the next job.

What do you think about Cillian Murphy's fear of unemployment? Let us know in the comments!

Written by

Iffat Siddiqui

Edited by

Hriddhi Maitra