Cillian Murphy Debuts Scruffy Gray Beard in New Movie ‘Steve’

Cillian Murphy is undergoing yet another transformation for a film role — and is sporting more hair on his face after being clean-shaven in his last public appearance.

The actor, 49, is the star of Netflix’s upcoming movie Steve, which unveiled its first trailer on Wednesday, Aug. 13. In the film, Murphy plays the titular character — a teacher for troubled students — and has a beard full of gray hair to complement a wardrobe of button-down shirts and suits.

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Though Murphy’s facial hair has more of a salt and pepper look than fans are used to seeing from him, the Academy Award-winner’s brunette hair maintained its cropped and slightly tousled appearance.

“The film follows a pivotal day in the life of headteacher Steve (Murphy) and his students at a last-chance reform school amidst a world that has forsaken them,” the official synopsis for the film — which is based on author Max Porter’s novel, Shy — reads. “As Steve fights to protect the school’s integrity and impending closure, we witness him grappling with his own mental health.”

The synopsis continues, “In parallel to Steve’s struggles, we meet Shy (Jay Lycurgo), a troubled teen caught between his past and what lies ahead as he tries to reconcile his inner fragility with his impulse for self-destruction and violence.”

The film is set to hit select theaters in September and will premiere on Netflix on Oct. 3.

Murphy’s new look serves as a departure from his last formal public appearance, which took place at the 2025 Oscars on March 2.

For the evening, the actor went classic in a simple black and white suit and black tie. He kept his hair tapered on the sides and went clean-shaven.

Murphy has grown out his facial hair for previous acting roles, including 2021’s A Quiet Place Part II, in which he starred alongside Emily Blunt and John Krasinski, as well as the 2013 series Peaky Blinders, where he led as main character Thomas “Tommy” Shelby.

The actor’s beard may reappear as soon as September, as he’s set to reprise his role in the upcoming Peaky Blinders movie.

“He [Murphy] definitely is returning for it,” series creator Steven Knight told U.K. outlet Birmingham World. “We’re shooting it in September just down the road in Digbeth [England].”