Cillian Murphy Is Headmaster in Netflix's ‘Steve’

Despite the hype around Peaky Blinders — both the film and the recently announced Season 7 — star Cillian Murphy has thus far stayed faithful to making indie films and small offbeat awardsbait projects that are far more arthouse than Oppenheimer's commercial blockbuster. Naturally, having won an Academy Award, production studios are eager to capitalize on this side of his career, especially those still focused on being part of the Oscar conversation and willing to invest heavily to achieve it. Hence, Murphy's newest project, Steve, hailing from Netflix, who are happy to let him do whatever he wants alongside Peaky Blinders.

Steve is a bit of an odd duck of a film. A 1990s-era period piece set in a British boarding school, Steve is Max Porter’s reimagining of his own novel, Shy, which he himself adapted into a feature film. The plot intertwines the experiences of a professor, Steve, and a student, Shy, at a "last chance" reform school in the U.K. that's being threatened with closure. As you will note, the title change indicates a shift in focus, centering on the head teacher in the film instead of the student.

Murphy was initially announced as starring in Steve back in February 2024, with Jay Lycurgo (I May Destroy You) announced as the no-longer-titular student, Shy. Filming took place over the spring of 2024, with the production releasing an old-school Polaroid photo of Murphy and Lycurgo on set with Porter to mark the completion of filming.

Here's the film's synopsis:

Set in the mid-1990s, Steve follows a pivotal day in the life of the titular headteacher and his students at a last-chance reform school amidst a world that has forsaken them. As Steve fights to protect the school’s integrity and impending closure, he grapples with his own mental health. In parallel to Steve’s struggles, troubled teen Shy is caught between his past and what lies ahead as he tries to reconcile his inner fragility with his impulse for self-destruction and violence. 

Murphy and Lycurgo co-star alongside an A-list supporting cast, including longtime established PBS favorites Roger Allam (Endeavour), Emily Watson (Little Women), Ben Lloyd-Hughes (Sanditon), Ruby Ashbourne-Serkis (I, Jack Wright), Joshua J Parker (Ridley), Tracey Ullman (Black Doves), and Marcus Garvey (Last Tango in Halifax). 

The supporting cast of students includes a who's who of up-and-comers: Simbi Ajikawo (Top Boy), Douggie McMeekin (The Decameron), Priyanga Burford (Industry), Youssef Kerkour (Stay Close), Luke Ayres (Passenger), Araloyin Oshunremi (Heartstopper), Archie Fisher (Boarders), Tom Moya (The Killing Kind), Ahmed Ismail (Out of the Dust), George Fouracres (The Franchise), Tut Nyuot (The Witcher: Blood Origin), and newcomer Joshua Barry.

Directed by Tim Mielants (Small Things Like These), Steve is adapted by the author Max Porter, from his own novel. Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow created the soundtrack. Porter and Murphy also executive produce with Tina Pawlik, as well as Murphy's producing partner, Alan Moloney, for their company, Big Things Films. 

Steve will receive a limited theatrical release in September, ahead of its debut on Netflix on Friday, October 3, 2025.