Cillian Murphy says films shouldn't be "preachy or dogmatic", but they should "ask questions"

NewsFilm News Cillian Murphy says films shouldn’t be “preachy or dogmatic”, but they should “ask questions” The actor is currently promoting 'Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man', in cinemas March 6 By Victoria Luxford 3rd March 2026 Cillian Murphy in 'Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man'. CREDIT: Netflix Cillian Murphy has said he believes cinema shouldn’t be “preachy” with its messages, but still be able to “ask questions” of its audience. READ MORE: Every song on the ‘Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man’ soundtrack The Irish actor returns to his most famous role as Thomas Shelby in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, in cinemas this Friday (March 6). The movie, a spin-off of the hit show Peaky Blinders, is set during World War 2. Advertisement In an interview with The Times promoting the film, it was mentioned to the star that it’s a film that uses Nazis as its villains, at a time where right-wing influencers and political commentators such as Nick Fuentes are aligning themselves with their ideals. “That’s profoundly upsetting,” Murphy says in reply. “But then this film wears that lightly — it’s not The Zone of Interest, let’s put it that way. And, look, the last thing I want to be involved in is preachy or dogmatic work because films should never tell you how to feel. “They should just ask questions. This should be an entertaining action film with a big heart, but if you want to look closer it could be provocative too. The best mainstream entertainment operates simultaneously on those levels.” He said his Oscar-winning biopic Oppenheimer could be viewed in a “similar” way, being enjoyed on different levels. “If you want to talk about where we are in the world and look at how close we are to nuclear fucking Armageddon, you can think about Oppenheimer in that way, but if you just want to look at a great film with big explosions then that’s cool as well.” Recommended Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man also stars Barry Keoghan as Thomas Shelby’s son, a role the actor recently compared to Simba in The Lion King. As for Cillian Murphy, he recently described himself as “just a fanboy” of Fontaines D.C., whose frontman Grian Chatten contributed the song ‘Puppet’ to The Immortal Man’s soundtrack. Related TopicsCillian MurphyOppenheimerPeaky BlindersPeaky Blinders: The Immortal Man You May Also Like Advertisement TRENDING Chalk’s uncompromising dance-punk is fuelled by personal vulnerability and political questioning ‘Scream 7’ review: ghosts of horror past haunt this nostalgia-heavy sequel KiiiKiii want you to lock in on being delulu: “It is a really optimistic driving force” ‘Resident Evil Requiem’ review: an inventive and unnerving survival horror sequel The NME 100: essential emerging artists for 2026 Advertisement More Stories Film News Cillian Murphy says films shouldn’t be “preachy or dogmatic”, but they should “ask questions” Film News ‘Evil Dead’ actor Bruce Campbell reveals cancer diagnosis Gaming News ‘God Of War’ creator slates “dumb” and “terrible” live-action adaptation reveal Music News Watch Mac DeMarco and Geese’s Cameron Winter attempt karaoke together Film News Translation of what the opening lyrics to ‘The Lion King’ theme actually means goes viral Gaming News Chiptune heroes Anamanaguchi share ‘Scott Pilgrim EX’ soundtrack