First Look at Cillian Murphy in Netflix Drama ‘Steve’

Netflix has unveiled the first official image of Cillian Murphy in Steve, a feature film adapted from Max Porter’s novella Shy and directed by Tim Mielants. The project, due out October 3, stars Murphy as the embattled headteacher of a crumbling reform school, set against a backdrop of systemic failure and personal unraveling.

The image, released today, features Murphy as the titular Steve, leaning against a chalkboard with a tennis ball in hand, less symbolism than subtle foreshadowing. Murphy’s character is tasked with guiding a group of teenage boys in a school facing permanent shutdown. His own stability, however, is increasingly precarious.

“As Steve fights to protect the school’s integrity and impending closure,” reads the official synopsis, “we witness him grappling with his own mental health.” Alongside him is Shy, played by Jay Lycurgo, a student navigating the brutal terrain between self-destruction and redemption.

The supporting cast includes Tracey Ullman, Simbi Ajikawo, and Emily Watson. Murphy, fresh off his Oscar win, reunites with director Tim Mielants, following their collaboration on Small Things Like These. The film also arrives on the heels of Max Porter’s Berlinale debut The Thing With Feathers, marking a continued evolution in Porter’s work from literature to screen.

Though this is the first still to just beginning to circulate, expectations are already mounting. Netflix and select cinemas in the U.K. will debut Steve on October 3. It’s a tight, tense tale, and from the first frame, it doesn’t look like it pulls its punches.

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