Cillian Murphy has once again found himself at the centre of online humour, this time for his seemingly “resting bored face” during Taylor Swift’s chat about her engagement to NFL star Travis Kelce on The Graham Norton Show. The Oscar-winning Oppenheimer actor, 47, joined the American singer, 35, on the BBC sofa on Friday night alongside a line-up of other celebrity guests. While Swift enthusiastically showed off her dazzling diamond engagement ring, reportedly valued between £575,000 and £820,000, much of the internet’s attention was drawn to Murphy’s rather unimpressed expression, which fans joked suggested he “wanted to be anywhere else”.
++ Inside the world of chimps: intelligence, social life, and surprising habits
Social media was soon flooded with comments and memes. “Resting bored face. I get it, Cillian,” one fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter), while another quipped: “Cillian’s social battery is always at 10 per cent.” Others chimed in with, “He’s one of us,” and “Someone get poor Cillian off that couch.” This is not the first time the Irish star’s reserved demeanour has gone viral — at the 2024 Golden Globes, where he won Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama for Oppenheimer, fans joked he “looked like he was hating every single second” of the event, dubbing him the “winner of the IDGAF war”.
Murphy appeared on the show to promote his upcoming film Steve, which follows a head teacher at a reform school battling with his own mental health challenges, while Swift discussed her latest album The Life of a Showgirl. When asked by host Graham Norton about her wedding plans, Swift replied: “You’ll know. I want to do the album stuff first, and the wedding happens after in terms of planning.” Many viewers joked that Murphy was “performing mental gymnastics” to stay engaged, though fans defended him, insisting his understated reactions are simply part of his charm.
++ Beverley Callard and Mo Farah to star on I’m A Celebrity All Stars
The pair share a friendly connection, with Swift recalling meeting Murphy and his family at an Oscars party. During the programme, she even spotted Murphy’s 17-year-old son Aran in the audience, prompting laughter from Norton, who exclaimed: “Oh my God, he is so Cillian Murphy style!” Meanwhile, the BBC confirmed a new three-year deal with Graham Norton and So Television to produce three more series of the award-winning chat show for BBC One and iPlayer, extending its run until at least 2028. The Graham Norton Show, first launched on BBC Two in 2007 before moving to BBC One, remains a Friday night staple, attracting nearly three million viewers per episode and millions more online.
