Cillian Murphy Spotted Filming in Athens, Greece

By Elena Marika Konstantinou

March 18, 2026

Tommy Shelby has officially swapped Birmingham for Athens. Cillian Murphy was photographed in the Greek capital on Tuesday afternoon, March 17, 2026, heading down into the basement of the historic Public Tobacco Factory on Lenorman Street, where Damien Chazelle's new film is now shooting.

The first photos of the Oppenheimer Oscar winner in Athens were published exclusively by iefimerida, taken by NDP photographers Nikos Zotos and Pavlos Karampatsis. According to the outlet, Murphy had been in town since the previous Friday, and he had already flown in earlier for a same-day costume fitting.

The project is Chazelle's still untitled prison drama for Paramount, his first feature since Babylon. Early reports describe a story set inside a 1940s prison that explores justice and redemption, and the factory's underground spaces have been turned into realistic prison cells for the shoot, Athinorama and iefimerida reported.

Murphy will not be doing time alone. Daniel Craig, Michelle Williams and Mia Threapleton are also in the cast, World of Reel reported, with The Brutalist cinematographer Lol Crawley behind the camera and Chazelle's longtime collaborator Justin Hurwitz writing the score.

The set itself is about as Athens as it gets. By Wednesday, Kathimerini described the landmark as locked down like a fortress, with doors shut, windows covered and a sign in English on Amfiaraou Street apologizing to neighbors for the inconvenience. The building is better known as home to the Hellenic Parliament's library and archives.

The film is produced by Chazelle and Olivia Hamilton's Wild Chickens Productions together with the Greek company Heretic. And the timing is pretty cinematic: Murphy got to work in Athens just days before the release of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, the movie that brings Tommy Shelby back.

Athens is having a genuine Hollywood moment right now. Brad Pitt has spent weeks filming The Riders around Greece, from Hydra to Menidi, and the award-winning series Tehran is also shooting in the capital, Flash reported.

According to reports, Murphy's shoot is set to run until late May or early June, with more scenes planned at the quarries in Markopoulo, around Greater Athens and on the island of Corfu.