Cillian Murphy has blamed mobile phones for destroying storytelling.

Cillian Murphy

Cillian Murphy

The 40-year-old actor stars in upcoming shootout thriller 'Free Fire' which is set in Boston in 1978 and he insists the decade which features was an important factor in him signing up for Ben Wheatley's action film because modern movies of the same ilk have to give technology too much prominence.

In an interview with the Metro newspaper, he explained: "Mobile phones have destroyed storytelling - you have to write in that his batteries failed or cut in a line saying, 'No signal! What's happening?'"

Murphy also enjoyed growing a moustache for his role as gangster Chris, something which was a fashion staple of the era.

He added: "Photographically, with the clothes and hair and soundtrack, the 1970s is a no brainer. I think everyone went off and cultivated their facial hair. I grew mine. Guys looked like that in the 70s."

'Free Fire' is centered on a meeting in a deserted warehouse between two gangs who want to conduct an arms deal but the transaction goes wrong and turns into a full-blown shootout and subsequently a game of survival over the course of one night.

Murphy stars in the film with 'Kong: Skull Island' star Brie Larson, Armie Hammer, Sharlto Copley and Control's Sam Riley in the film, but he admits the biggest thrill for him was getting to work with 'High Rise' filmmaker Wheatley.

He said: "I'd always wanted to work with Ben Wheatley. Plus the idea we could pull off a film in one location, effectively making it a feature-length gun battle."

Murphy is best-known for his roles as Tommy Shelby in 'The Peaky Blinders' and as Scarecrow in 'Batman Begins' but when it comes to being recognised in public, it's always his role in the Birmingham-set BBC series which people know him for.

He explained: "Television does that, it wipes the slate clean. Because it's beamed into people's rooms, you become like people's best friend or something. They start giving you advice - when it was a question of who I was going to marry in one cliffhanger, people were saying, 'Don't marry her, marry her!' It's nice but when people start dressing like the character and getting the same haircut, it's a bit mad."

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