Hollywood star Cillian Murphy names Roy Keane as his ‘number one’

Oscar winning Cillian Murphy admitted he’s a big Roy Keane fan and that the Manchester United legend is Cork’s most famous celebrity.

Murphy became the first Irishman to win an Oscar as he picked up the Academy Award for best actor after his performance in Oppenheimer. Christopher Nolan’s film picked up seven accolades at Sunday night’s award ceremony.

However, many of you will remember Murphy from BBC hit series The Peaky Blinders. Murphy portrayed infamous Birmingham gangster Tommy Shelby from 2013 to 2022.

In the build-up to the Oscars, Murphy was asked if he was the biggest celebrity from his hometown of Cork, to which he humbly replied (via RTE): “I mean, to me, no one will be more famous than Roy Keane coming out of Cork. I’m a big Roy Keane fan, so he’s always number one for me.”

Although Murphy professed his love and admiration for Keane, he’s understood to be a Liverpool fan.

Gary Neville is still looking for Cillian Murphy’s autograph

During an excellent hour-long interview with Keane on The Overlap in 2021, Gary Neville revealed a funny story about asking Hollywood actor Murphy for a picture.

“I’ve only ever asked someone for a picture once and he was a man from Cork, Cillian Murphy… and he said no,” said Neville.

Keane replied: “He said no. Brilliant! I love that. Brilliant.”

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