Cillian Murphy Switches To A Vegan Diet, Reveals The Food He Misses The Most

Actor Cillian Murphy, who won the Academy Award for Best Actor at the 2024 Oscars for 'Oppenheimer', has shared a sneak peek into his dietary choices. In a previous episode of 'WTF With Marc Maron Podcast', which resurfaced after first being released in July, Murphy talked about transitioning to a vegan diet. Talking about his diet on the podcast, the 'Peaky Blinders' star told the host, "I've been vegan lately, so I've been trying the vegan thing as well," as reported by Daily Mail.

"I Miss Cheese Terribly"

While Murphy had been vegetarian for about 15 years, adjusting to a vegan diet is still new for him. In the podcast, he admitted, "I miss cheese terribly." However, when it came to meat, the actor shared, "I don't miss the meat. I've been off meat for a long time. I did have a kind of a relapse and I didn't feel any better, so I'm back off it again."
Also Read: Everything You Need To Know About Veganism Before Trying It

Cillian Murphy in 'Oppenheimer'. Photo Credit: Instagram /oppenheimermovie

Cillian Murphy's Reason For Going Vegan

When asked by the podcast host if his reason for switching to a vegan diet is ethical or health-conscious, Murphy answered, "Both, now. In the beginning, there was a lot of Mad Cow Disease and all that stuff happening. But I just think it's better for the planet."

For the unversed, Mad Cow Disease or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is a neurological disease in cattle that worsens over time, according to WebMD. The human version of BSE is called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). There's strong evidence people can contract vCJD by consuming beef products.
Also Read: 18 Best Vegetarian Dinner Recipes| 18 Easy Dinner Recipes

Eating Meat For 'Peaky Blinders'

In a 2017 interview with 'Mr Porter', Murphy shared, "I was vegetarian for about 15 years. [...] But it was never a moral decision. It was more that I was worried about getting mad cow disease." He added, "For the first series of Peaky Blinders, they were anxious that I shouldn't look like a skinny Irish fella, and my trainer recommended meat."

After the conclusion of 'Peaky Blinders', Murphy returned to a vegetarian diet in 2022, as he shared in an interview with The Guardian. "I was vegetarian for a long time then I relapsed and now I've relapsed back to vegetarianism."

While preparing for his role as the theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer in the Oscar-winning film 'Oppenheimer', Murphy underwent a strict diet that hardly involved any eating. In a previous interview, Murphy's co-star Emily Blunt told ExtraTV that Cillian "could only eat, like, an almond every day. He was so emaciated." Read more about Murphy's 'Oppenheimer' diet here.