Cillian Murphy Isn’t A Fan Of His Thriller With Rachel McAdams

Cillian Murphy isn’t fond of one of his earliest big-screen roles.

Confessing that he hasn’t seen many of his own movies, Murphy told GQ that he doesn’t hold 2005’s Red Eye in high regard. “I don’t think it’s a good movie,” he said. “It’s a good B movie.”

Directed by horror maestro Wes Craven and co-starring Rachel McAdams, the psychological thriller follows the story of a hotel manager (McAdams) who becomes embroiled in a terrorist plot during a red-eye flight to Miami.

While he wasn’t pleased with the final product, Murphy also expressed his “love” for McAdams, adding that the pair “had fun making it.”

McAdams shares her co-star’s fond memories of filming Red Eye. “We’d listen to music and gab away while doing the crossword puzzle,” she recalled to GQ for Murphy’s Feb. 2024 cover story. “They say the nicest people sometimes make the best villains,” she added, referring to the actor’s character in the movie, assassin Jackson Rippner, who transitions from a seemingly good guy to very bad.

Murphy explained that “the duality” of playing “the nice guy and the bad guy” is what drew him to Red Eye. “It’s why I wanted to play it,” he continued. “The only reason it appealed to me is you could do that — that turn, you know?”

This isn’t the first time Murphy has voiced his opinions on Red Eye. In 2021, he described the film as “schlocky” during an interview with Uproxx.

“I remember when I saw it was like ‘Oh, that’s kind of a schlocky B movie.’ Rachel McAdams is excellent in it,” he said at the time. “I didn’t think I gave a very nuanced performance in it. But, listen, if people love the movie then that’s great.”

Despite Murphy’s critiques, the film achieved both positive reviews and commercial success upon its 2005 release, taking in almost $100 million at the global box office against a $26 million budget.