Cillian Murphy has revealed he has adopted a vegan diet as he shared the one item he misses the most after being a vegetarian for more than a decade.
Cillian, 47, shared the news of his decision on an episode of the WTF With Marc Maron Podcast, which has resurfaced after it was first released in July.
Veganism prohibits the consumption of food or drink containing meat, dairy and eggs, as part of a practice whereby individuals abstain from using animal products.
Asked by Marc if he misses eating meat as part of his diet, Murphy replied: ‘I don’t miss meat, no. I’ve been off meat for a long time now.’
He added: ‘I had a bit of a relapse and I didn’t feel any better so I’m off it again.’
Cillian Murphy has revealed he has adopted a vegan diet as he shared the one item he misses the most after being a vegetarian for more than a decade
Veganism prohibits the consumption of food or drink containing meat, dairy and eggs, as part of a practice whereby individuals abstain from using animal products
However, he added that he enjoyed “very nice” venison during a brief relapse, but reaffirmed that he “(doesn’t) eat (meat) anymore.”
Asked what food he missed most after switching from vegetarian to vegan, Cillian said: ‘I miss cheese.’
He went on to say that he made the choice for both ethical and health reasons.
Elaborating on his decision, he said, “At first there was just a lot of mad cow disease and stuff like that… it was a bad scene. So I just don’t do it now.’
This echoes comments he made in a 2017 interview about fears about the disease, medically known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
He said: ‘I was a vegetarian for about fifteen years. But it was never a moral decision. It was more that I was afraid I was going to get mad cow disease.”
His vegetarianism was interrupted by his preparation for Peaky Blinders, after his trainer advised him to eat meat in a bid to bulk up and look less “like a skinny Irish guy”.
Cillian’s change in diet comes after it was confirmed he will return to Peaky Blinders for a film based on the series.
Cillian Murphy has been confirmed to return for the Peaky Blinders film (featured on the show in 2016)
He played gangster Tommy Shelby in the BBC series which ended in 2022 and will begin filming with the rest of the cast later this year.
Creator Steven Knight shared the exciting news while speaking to BirminghamWorld during the premiere of his new BBC show This Town on March 21.
He said: ‘He will definitely come back for it. We’ll be filming the movie in September, down the road in Digbeth.’
The film will begin filming in September at Digbeth Loc Studios in Birmingham and will be set during the Second World War.
Cillian had said of the project earlier this year: ‘I’ve always said that if Knight delivers a script that I know he can deliver, because he’s such a phenomenal writer, I’ll be there.
“If we want to look at 50-year-old Tommy Shelby, I’ll be there. Let’s do it.’