Aran Murphy is having quite a month, as he co-stars on not one, but two HBO shows — “Youth” and “War” — and plays one of the leads of Taika Waititi’s dystopian film “Klara and the Sun,” set to be released on Oct. 23. But if you think you’ve seen the 19-year-old actor before, it could be because of his strong resemblance to his Oscar-winning father, Cillian Murphy. In both “War” and “Youth,” Murphy plays a troubled teenager negotiating complex relationships with his parents as they navigate divorce.
As her son Rauri, Murphy plays a creepy, brooding university dropout whom audiences also can’t help sympathize with. After only a few days at school, he returns home because a rumor has been spread about him and a drunken hookup that suggests he may be a predator. Did Murphy decide for himself whether Rauri is to be believed about his innocence during the incident?
It’s up to the audience; I don’t decide that. But I want to back my character.” Murphy’s and Rauri’s life trajectories are very different, but their timelines aren’t, which helped him get into character. He adds that Hogan’s strong scripts and professionalism helped Murphy find his footing on set.
Caught between Carla, a past-her-prime actress, and Morgan, a billionaire social media entrepreneur, Gabriel finds himself in the crossfire, used as an asset to negotiate between them. Like Rauri in “Youth,” Murphy similarly credits his character’s duality and relatability to creator George Kay. Despite growing up with artistic parents (his mother, Yvonne McGuinness, is an Irish visual artist), Murphy originally saw himself on the football field.
That was kind of the thing that showed me I wanted to [perform] for real when I became of age.” Murphy, of course, grew up watching his father act. But Cillian’s biggest role for Murphy has been as a supportive father, rather than a public figure or acting influence. Murphy was more starstruck by working with Waititi on “Klara and the Sun” starring Jenna Ortega and Amy Adams.
Based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, the film follows Ortega as a robot girl experiencing the grandeur of human life for the first time. Though the movie is coming out this month, it was shot in early 2024 when Murphy was 16. One minute I was in school, and then the next I was flying out to New Zealand and shooting a Taika Waititi film at 16, so it was just absolutely nuts,” Murphy says.
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