One of the best parts of the Oscar nominations hullabaloo is that newly-minted Oscar nominees are expected to give interviews about how happy they are and how their lives have just changed and their nomination is a dream come true. What’s even better is when the first-time nominee is a bit older, more of a journeyman actor, and someone who doesn’t actually give a sh-t but the studio is making him pretend to be excited. Enter Cillian Murphy. Now, let me say this: when Cillian walked the Golden Globe red carpet, he looked like he wanted to curl up and die. But over the course of several awards-season events, Cillian seemed to be enjoying himself a bit more, especially since he got to hang out with other actors. He’s still deeply uncomfortable with all of this fuss, but you can tell he’s given himself several pep talks to get through it. Anyway, Cillian was at his mum’s house in Ireland when he heard the news about his Oscar nom:

Murphy learned of his best actor nod from his home country of Ireland. “Thankfully, I live in a time zone that I don’t have to get up at 5 a.m.,” he told Variety. “It was already organized for me. We’ve had a few days off and I’ve been at home, which has been very, very pleasant. I’m actually in my parents’ house in Cork city. I was with my parents and my wife today. So that was really nice.” He was in his childhood kitchen when the nominations were revealed. “We had a cup of tea and a slice of cake. It was quite nice,” Murphy said. “My mom made a sponge cake. It was very tasty.”

Wrapping his head around all of this: “Words don’t really do it justice. I think the superlatives fail you at this point. I’m so truly honored and kind of overwhelmed. But most of all, proud of the movie, and proud that it has achieved so much. It exceeded all of our expectations, any of any of us who are involved in making this movie. I get people coming up to me on the street all the time and they say, “I’ve watched the movie five times.” And then these are older people, and they’re younger people and they’re boys and girls. It’s crazy. And then to be recognized by the Academy like we have been, it’s just kind of mind-blowing.

His Oscar dates: “I’ll bring my wife and my boys, hopefully. That’s the plan so far.

Oscar advice: “I have friends that have gone to it in the past. They all say it’s a wonderful experience that you never forget. I gotta go in with an open heart and enjoy it because it may never happen again. So that’s my attitude.

When he got starstruck: “I met some of the guys from “Succession.” That’s my favorite show on the telly. I’m so heartbroken that it’s finished.

Whether he’ll bring a snack to the Oscars: “Maybe I’ll bring some of mom’s sponge cake in my wife’s handbag.

[From Variety]

He’s more excited about his mum’s sponge cake than the Oscar nom. The man is a walking “hang in there, kitten” poster – it will all be over in about six weeks, and luckily he has something else to keep him occupied: he’s bringing Small Things Like These to the Berlin Film Festival (he produced it). So at least it’s not all awards shows! They also made Cillian chat with Deadline and he basically explained that he was trying to force himself to be positive:

When asked if he’s grasped the enormity of an Oscar nomination and what he might have thought when he was starting out, he says, “I don’t think you would have believed it or seen it as a possibility or anything like that; I just wanted to make theater and make good theater, and then you do a small part in a short film and then a small part in a film — we’ve talked about this really gradual process and I think that’s why I’m able to deal with it and able to enjoy it. I’m like 48 and I’ve seen a lot and been doing it for 28 years now, so I think I can understand how significant it is to me and how meaningful it is to me and to other people… You know, it’s been a long time in the business. I think as a youngster it just didn’t seem a possibility anything like this.”

Now that he’s got an Oscar nom, in addition to BAFTA and SAG up ahead, what has he learned on the campaign trail?

He says, “I feel really lucky to have been in rooms full of artists who I really genuinely admire and get to spend time and talk about it. It is a bit of a circus, but it’s there because people love the film and they care about the work and they care about cinema. I have to say I’m really enjoying it… It just felt really a lovely and secure place to be… I think you kind of need to open your heart a little bit and just go with it; it’s all positivity and that’s a good thing, I think we need positivity in the world right now.”

Murphy continues, “There’s too much cynicism in the world, I think, and we all recognize our place as actors and we all know where we stand in the sort of import of what we do for society, but I think it’s important to just avoid cynicism and embrace it.”

[From Deadline]

Yeah. He gave himself a full-blown pep talk. “Don’t be a miserable bastard, be upbeat, be an adult, be appreciative, just keep it positive, for the love of god.” “Awards Season Cillian Murphy” is perhaps an even better performance than “Cillian Murphy plays Robert Oppenheimer.”

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.