Irish actor Cillian Murphy, known for memorable roles in The Dark Knight, Inception and The Dark Knight Rises, stars as Emmett, a determined loner whose past makes it difficult for the Abbot family to trust his true intentions, in the suspense thriller A Quiet Place Part II.
(Delve into the mystery behind Murphy’s character with this behind-the-scenes look below.)
Following the deadly events at home, the Abbott family (Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe) must now face the terrors of the outside world as they continue their fight for survival in silence. Forced to venture into the unknown, they quickly realize that the creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threats that lurk beyond the sand path.
“Emmett is one of my favorite characters,” reflects director-writer John Krasinski. “The fascinating part is that he’s at a point where he doesn’t feel the need to be a part of any community, so when he meets the Abbotts it's a real conundrum for him because this family is something anyone would want to be a part of or at least help in any way you can. Giving the audience access to this kind of complex and private inner struggle can be very difficult for any actor—but Cillian Murphy is without a doubt one of the best actors I've worked with so were very lucky have him. He brings a representation of someone who hasn’t been surrounded by love and has survived in a different way. There's a darkness to Emmett, and a fear level to him that keep him alluring but highly unpredictable.”
For Murphy, the offer of the character felt like kismet—especially because he’d wanted to reach out to Krasinski but held back. Murphy recalls: “After I saw A Quiet Place, I was so blown away by it that I thought to myself, I have to write to John and tell him how much I loved the film. I wrote him this very effusive email, but in the end, I chickened out and never sent it. A year or so later out of the blue he called and said we're doing the second film, and would I be interested? It was a lovely serendipity.”
Murphy also sees Emmett as a man who, antithetical to Lee (the father and husband in the original A Quiet Place), turned inward under duress, locking everything else out. “Emmett has retreated into his grief completely,” Murphy describes. “While the Abbotts have been trying to find solutions and make the best of things, he’s just barely been scraping by on his own. It’s only when he meets the Abbotts in the steel mill that he is shaken out of his isolation and realizes he has to make a decision about the future.”
Also joining the cast for the first time is two-time Academy Award® nominee Djimon Hounsou. “I've been a fan of Djimon’s forever going back to Gladiator and Amistad,” says Krasinski. “But the movie that really blew me away and the reason why I cast him was In America. There is something about Djimon that is so innately emotional. You immediately watch any performance of his and you have a little bit of a choke in your throat.”
Having fallen in love with A Quiet Place on first watch, Hounsou was thrilled to create a new character in the next chapter and collaborate with Krasinski. “It's wonderful to work with a director who is such an actor’s director,” he says. “John’s approach is one of really caring about what actors need. He has an open, organic style of working with the cast, and if there is one thing that characterizes this story and everything about it, it is that it always feels very, very organic.”
In Philippine cinemas March 18, A Quiet Place Part II is distributed in the Philippines by United International Pictures through Columbia Pictures. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Connect with #AQuietPlace and tag uipmoviesph
