Cillian Murphy’s home life with his wife and children explained

Cillian Murphy’s fictional life on Peaky Blinders earned him legions of loyal fans over the nine years he was a part of the show, but behind the scenes, the Irish actor has a real family of his own.

Despite his fame, Cillian has managed to keep his marriage and children out of the spotlight. However, occasionally he opens up about life at home with them, and some aspects might surprise you. 

Cillian has been married to his wife, Yvonne McGuinness, since 2004 after they met at one of his rock band’s shows in 1996.

They have two children, Malachy, 17, and Aran, 16, who they’re raising in Ireland. But when it comes to their family dynamic, it’s a little out of the ordinary. 

Cillian’s role on Peaky Blinders meant that for almost a decade, he was only home for half of the year at home as he filmed on location – something he’s always found difficult. 

MORE: Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy’s private home life in Dublin home revealed 

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Cillian Murphy spends a lot of time away from his family and admits it’s a struggle 

Speaking to GQ, he said: “That work-life balance thing is hard. I have an amazing wife and I couldn’t do this without her and her understanding. But it is a struggle.”

He continued: “I think it is for any dad whose work takes him away, which it generally does, and which consumes him, which my work does.”

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When he does have down time with his family, Cillian says he doesn’t go out much because he hates the attention. Although he adds: “I’m always happy to chat,” to fans, he just doesn’t like the surreptitious photo opportunities. 

MORE: Peaky Blinders fans left sobbing as they praise ‘beautiful’ tribute to Helen McCrory

Instead, he prefers to stay at home and cook with his wife and spend time with his teenage children. 

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When Peaky Blinders wrapped it’s sixth and final season last year, Cillian was able to return to some sort of normality at his home in Ireland. 

The family moved from London to Dublin in 2015, and he said it was a great decision and told The Irish Times. 

“The kids are of a certain age. I think if you live in a world capital – like New York or London or wherever – it’s excellent and exciting and stimulating in your 20s and 30s.

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“Then there’s a point where the things that were excellent and stimulating are now a bit sort of tedious and draining. You want something quieter and that’s what we did.”

While Peaky Blinders, the TV series has come to an end, Cillian’s character, Thomas Selby, is coming to life in a movie which is in development according to the show’s creator, Steven Knight – although a release date has not been announced. 

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During his speech after winning the award for Best Drama at the TRIC Awards, Steven said: “We could never have predicted how much this series about Birmingham ­gangsters in the 20s and 30s would resonate. Some things just seem to have momentum and luck, and they stick, and everyone working on them feels that. What is coming next? It’s to be announced. But it’s not the end.”

However, fans may be waiting a long time for the movie as Cillian revealed he’s not seen a script yet. He explained to Deadline: “I’d be as excited as anybody to read a script. But I think it’s good for everyone to have a little break. That’s always a healthy thing and then we can regroup.

“Steve is an insanely busy and in-demand writer, but I know that he loves writing Peaky above all, I’m sure he’s told you the same. He adores it. So I think when the time comes, if there’s more story to be told, I’ll be there.”