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Little things like that is a film adapted from the novel of the same name by Irish author Claire Keegan. The film will star Irish actor Cillian Murphy, who is coming off his Oscar-winning performance in Christopher Nolan's film. Oppenheimer. The film is directed by Belgian director Tim Mielants, which seems like a perfect follow-up after Oppenheimer for Murphy. The film premiered in February at the Berlin Film Festival and received a high score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The story of Little things like that takes place in 1985 in Wexford, Ireland, at Christmas time. The film focuses on "Madalena Laundries"or asylums in Ireland, usually run by the Catholic Church. These laundries originally housed former sex workers, but later also became a place for female rape victims. Sometimes the women housed were social outcasts, victims of abuse and orphans. The women housed in these laundries became known as "fallen women.“A gathering of talented actors was assembled to play the women in this story.
Actor |
Character |
Cillian Murphy |
Bill Furlong |
Eileen Walsh |
Eileen Furlong |
Emily Watson |
Sister Mary |
Claire Dunne |
Sister Carmelo |
Michelle Fairley |
Mrs. |
Cillian Murphy - Bill Furlong
Date of birth: May 25, 1976
Born in Cork, Ireland, Murphy dropped out of Cork University to focus on his acting career in 1996, which began primarily with theater work and short films. He began to establish himself after starting in the horror film 28 days later in 2002. He was nominated for a Golden Globe for his work in the 2005 comedy-drama Breakfast On Pluto, where he played a transgender character. His escape also occurred in 2005 when he starred in the Christopher Nolan film Batman begins like Scarecrow. Since then, he has collaborated with Nolan several times and both have won several awards for their collaboration on Oppenheimer.
Notable movies/TV shows |
Paper |
The Dark Knight trilogy (2005-2012) |
Dr. Johnathan Crane/Scarecrow |
Home (2010) |
Roberto Fischer |
Peaky Blinder (2013-2022) |
Thomas Shelby |
A Quiet Place: Part 2 (2020) |
Emmitt |
Oppenheimer (2023) |
Robert Oppenheimer |
Character: Murphy plays coal merchant Bill Furlong, who is suspicious of his local convent and works to uncover the secret of the Magdalene laundry they run and the "fallen ladies" they take in.
Eileen Walsh - Eileen Furlong
Date of birth: April 16, 1977
Eileen Walsh was born in Cork, Ireland. She and Murphy worked together on the film Disco Pigs in 2001. A year later, she starred in a film on a similar topic to this film called The Magdalene Sisters. Walsh has worked mainly on independent Irish productions. She won an award from the Irish Film and Television Academy for his work in 2008 Eden. She was recently awarded the Maureen O'Hara Award at the Kerry Film Festival in 2023.
Notable movies/TV shows |
Paper |
The Magdalene Sisters (2002) |
Crispina |
Eden (2008) |
Brenda Farrell |
Catastrophe (2015-19) |
Kate |
Character: Walsh plays Murphy's character's wife, Eileen. The couple shares five daughters in the film.
Emily Watson - Sister Mary
Date of birth: January 14, 1967
Emily Watson was born in London and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1992. She has starred in a wide variety of films, earning much praise. In 1996 she debuted in her debut film Breaking the waves, opposite Stellen Skarsgård, which earned him an Oscar nomination. She won the British Independent Film Award for her role in Hilary and Jackie. Watson is best known for her work on the HBO series Chernobylwhich earned him an Emmy nomination. She will also star in HBO films Dune Prophecy later this year.
Notable movies/TV shows |
Paper |
Breaking the Waves (1996) |
Bess McNeill |
Hilary and Jackie (1998) |
Jacqueline du Pré |
Gosford Park (2001) |
Elsie |
Appropriate Adult (2011) |
Janet Leach |
Chernobyl (2019) |
Uliana Khomyuk |
Character: Watson plays Sister Mary, the convent's mother superior and who prepares to be the story's antagonist.
Claire Dunne - Sister Carmel
Date of birth: April 10, 1985
Claire Dunne was born in Dublin, Ireland, and began her career on the National and Abbey Theater stages in a number of plays, including Julius Caesar and A Midsummer Night's Dream. She made her film debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Spider-Man: Far From Home. In 2021, she starred in the Ridley Scott film The Last Duel and had a leading role in the Irish crime drama Relative.
Notable movies/TV shows |
Paper |
---|---|
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2019) |
Victory |
Herself (2020) |
Sandra |
The Last Duel (2021) |
Celia |
Kin (2021-23) |
Amanda Kinsela |
Character: Dunne plays one of the head nuns. Her character, Sister Carmel, appears to be Sister Mary's right-hand woman.
Michelle Fairley - Mrs.
Date of birth: July 11, 1963
Michelle Fairley was born in Derry, Northern Ireland. Although he started out in theater, most of his work has been on television. However, she participates in some films. She starred as Hermione Granger's mother in Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows Part 1. She is most famous for her role as Catelyn Stark during the first three seasons of Game of Thrones. She currently plays the lead role in several television shows, including London gangs.
Notable movies/TV shows |
Paper |
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010) |
Mrs. |
Game of Thrones (2011-2013) |
Catelyn Stark |
Gangs of London (2020 to present) |
Mariana Wallace |
Character: Fairley plays a wealthy Protestant who hires Bill Furlong's mother as a maid.
Little things like these supporting cast and characters
Small things has a deep supporting cast, which includes Bill Furlong's four daughters and local pub landlady Mrs Kehoe, who knows a lot of the inner workings of Wexford.
Helen Behan |
Mrs. |
Zara Devlin |
Sarah Redmond |
Liadán Dunlea |
Kathleen Furlong |
Juliana Doherty |
Joana Furlong |
Raquel Lynch |
Sheila Furlong |
Aoife Gaffney |
Grace Furlong |
Faye Brazil |
Loretta Furlong |
Agnes O'Casey |
Sarah Furlong |
Mark Mackenna |
Ned |
Máire Ní Ghráinne |
Sister Anne |
Patricia Twomey |
Sister Francisca |
Patrick Ryan |
Pat |
Peter Claffey |
Barry |
Ian O'Reilly |
P.J. |
Tadhg Moloney |
Diarmuida Sinnott |
Joanne Crawford |
Norm Sinnott |
Aidan O'Hare |
Mick Sinnott |
Abby Fitz |
Lisa |
Amy De Bhrun |
Emma |
Helen Gregg |
Kate |
Claire Monnelly |
Niamh |
Hugh Mcallister |
Barber |