Oscar’s Midas touch
But even if he bags the big one and wins best actor for Oppenheimer, Cillian Murphy is most unlikely to betray his art for big bucks, say movie insiders
OSCAR hot favourite Cillian Murphy could see his earnings soar if he wins Best Actor next Sunday – but industry experts said they don’t expect the Corkman to betray his art for bigger bucks.
The Oppenheimer star continued what looks to be a procession to the most-coveted acting prize by winning at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards last month – to add to his Golden Globe – and is now nailed on to win the big one, according to industry watchers and the bookies.
Winning an Oscar can boost an actor’s asking price for future films by between an average of 60% and 81%, according to various estimates.
But Fionnuala Halligan, who is executive editor of the UK-based industry magazine Screen International, said such estimates should be taken with a
‘It’s more about what he can now do artistically’
pinch of salt, given the variables of what stage an actor’s career is at and their decisions after winning.
She told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘I can say that yes, [his fee] will go up, but it will very much depend on what kind of roles he wants to take.’
Ms Halligan, who is a member of the London Film Critics’ Circle, Bafta and the European Film Academy and is a top-rated critic on review website Rotten Tomatoes, said there will have been a ‘reasoning’ and ‘strategy’ behind Murphy’s campaigning for an Oscar at this stage of his career.
‘He’s not 22. He’s a seasoned actor who will want to do things now with the cachet that he will get and the money and the international financing that it will attract.’
She added that the 47-year-old actor – who could become the first Irish-born person to win an Oscar for a leading role – has had ‘a pretty solid career’ and ‘seems to be having a very nice life with his [BBC] Radio Six show’ as it is.
‘He’s not short of parts at the moment. Does he want to be the lead in the next Mission Impossible? No, he doesn’t. Does he want to be the next Bond? Almost certainly not. So his fee will go up 80% if he decides to put his chips in and do something like that, but from what I’ve seen it’s going to be more about what he can now do artistically.’
The industry expert said Murphy will now be able to ‘call the shots a bit more’ and will ‘bring lustre and financing’ to projects, though she added that he ‘was already respected and a financing trigger’.
‘They couldn’t have made [upcoming Irish film] Small Things Like These if he wasn’t known. They wouldn’t have got
any money for it if there had been unknown actors in it.’
The Dublin-born film expert added that Murphy would have been paid far less than usual to take on that role.
The Peaky Blinders star already has an estimated net worth of $20m (€18m) complete with a luxury car collection. He was reportedly paid $10m for Oppenheimer.
An Oscar for lead actors boosts their salary by an estimated 60% according to one survey by Money Nation, though this can fluctuate hugely. Another study carried out 10 years ago and cited by Forbes suggested 81% was the average rise for men who win a Best Actor Oscar, with women seeing barely any increase on average, though again this fluctuates wildly.
Halle Berry’s fee reportedly jumped from $118,750 to $6,500,000 after winning her Oscar for Monster’s Ball at the 2002 awards.
And Tom Hanks is reported to have gone from an asking price of $700,000 to $10,000,000 after winning his first of two consecutive Oscars for 1994’s Philadelphia.