‘Klara and the Sun’ Star Aran Murphy Hits Pause on Sharing the Screen With Dad Cillian Murphy

Aran Murphy is having a very big autumn. The 19-year-old has an HBO comedy, an HBO and Sky drama and a Taika Waititi movie all landing within weeks of each other, and nearly every interview circles back to one famous name: his father, Cillian Murphy.

Aran is the youngest of Cillian’s two sons with the visual artist Yvonne McGuinness, and he was born in July 2007. He spent his first years in London before the family moved to Dublin in 2015. He made his acting debut at 11 in the one-boy play ‘Hamnet’, which is not to be confused with the 2025 film, and he followed it with a small role in the 2022 Irish sci-fi film ‘Lola’.

His big television moment is HBO’s ‘Youth’, which premiered Sept. 20 on HBO and HBO Max. Sharon Horgan created, writes and stars in the eight-episode comedy as Alex, a 50-year-old divorcee searching for sex and love while caring for her ailing parents and parenting her should-be-grown-up son. Aran plays that son, Ruari, alongside Rupert Friend, Sharlene Whyte and Robbie Gee.

With the attention on his family name, it was only a matter of time before the obvious question came up. Asked in an interview with Variety whether he would ever want to share the screen with Cillian, Aran kept things open but noncommittal. He left the door ajar for the future while making clear it isn’t something he’s chasing right now.

The question lands after a viral moment on Sept. 11, when Aran walked the red carpet at a BAFTA screening of ‘Youth’ in London. A video interview from the event spread widely, with viewers pointing to his voice, mannerisms and expressions as uncannily similar to his dad’s. Some online commenters joked that he would spend the early part of his career answering questions about the resemblance.

Cillian, for his part, has never pushed his son into the business. He told The Telegraph in 2024 that Aran was showing promise as an actor, and he has said he isn’t putting any pressure on him to follow a particular path. The advice he passes on is simple, according to Aran: trust your instincts.

The pair have appeared together at major events. Aran and his brother Malachy joined their parents at the Oscars in March 2024, when Cillian won Best Actor for ‘Oppenheimer’, and Cillian has thanked both sons in several of his awards speeches. For now, though, Aran seems focused on carving out a lane of his own.

The next big milestone is ‘Klara and the Sun’, Waititi’s adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel, set for release Oct. 23. Aran plays Rick, the best friend and neighbor of Josie, played by Mia Tharia, in a cast that includes Jenna Ortega and Amy Adams. The Irish Times described it as his first lead role in a feature film.

He also appears in ‘War’, the HBO and Sky co-production starring Dominic West and Sienna Miller, which launches on Sky and Now on Oct. 2. His agency announced his casting as Gabriel when he was 17, though the Irish Times describes it as a small part.

To prepare for ‘Youth’, Aran has said he shared videos from his friends’ feeds with the director and crew to help ground the teenage side of the story. He told Vanity Fair that Horgan’s take on teen life felt annoyingly familiar, a compliment from someone who is still a teenager himself.

The series also arrived at a notable moment for Irish audiences, since Warner Bros. confirmed in March that HBO Max would launch in Ireland. That meant Aran’s breakthrough comedy could be streamed at home right away.

Between a comedy, a drama and a major feature, Aran has plenty to keep him busy without teaming up with his father. If the day does come when the two share a scene, it will surely be one of the most anticipated casting announcements in Irish film.

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