Cillian Murphy is basking in the success of winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Oppenheimer on Sunday night.
The Corkman was rewarded for his critically-acclaimed turn as J. Robert Oppenheimer, and it's fair to say that the messages of congrats would have been pouring into his phone afterwards.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk could have been one of the well-wishers, after he revealed to Gary Neville in the past that Murphy's is the most famous contact in his phone.
Van Dijk and Murphy appeared to hit it off at Anfield just before Covid, as the Dutchman brought the Peaky Blinders star and his family out onto the pitch, after a 3-2 victory over West Ham.
Cillian Murphy is every Liverpool fan when we see Virgil Van Dijk ( © 🎥 Inside Anfield - Liverpool v West Ham 2020 https://t.co/qiEThAkue8 ) pic.twitter.com/OvQAqDVCBr
— Cillian Murphy Fans (@CMurphyFans) February 26, 2020
Virgil van Dijk gives Cillian Murphy tour of Anfield
In a clip that was widely-shared at the time, and has re-emerged followed Murphy's Oscar win, the actor suggests the group pose for a photo with the giant defender, who was only happy to oblige.
While the visit suggests that Murphy is a Liverpool fan, or at least some of his family are, it states on his Wikipedia page that he wasn't keen on sports while attending Presentation Brothers College in Cork, where he was a classmate of Irish rugby legend Ronan O'Gara.
If that is the case, Murphy still clearly knows a sporting legend when he sees one, given his friendship with VVD, and his comments on fellow Corkman Roy Keane when speaking to RTÉ's Morning Ireland ahead of his Oscar win.
"I mean, to me, no one will be more famous than Roy Keane coming out of Cork," quipped Murphy, when asked if he is now the county's most famous celebrity.
"I'm a big Roy Keane fan, so he's always number one for me. Sorry, Graham [Norton]!"
Murphy will be happy to hear that Keane backed his decision not to pose for a photo with Neville on the set of Peaky Blinders, after Neville told his ex-teammate the story in an episode of the The Overlap. A clip of this conversation can be seen below.
When Gary Neville asked Cillian Murphy for a photo 😂 pic.twitter.com/IlAkM5jHNK
— RedFM Sport (@BigRedBench) March 12, 2024
Cillian Murphy's sporting preferences
It's unclear whether Murphy's admiration for Keane made him a Manchester United admirer in his younger days, or if the kindness shown by Van Dijk towards his family has him leaning towards Liverpool these days.
Now that he's won an Oscar though, any of number of big sporting organisations will be rolling out the red carpet for Murphy whenever he's in town.
See Also: Daniel Sturridge Heaps Praise On Caoimhín Kelleher For Overlooked Moment In Man City Draw
