The story of Small Things Like These takes place in 1985 in Wexford, Ireland, around Christmas time. The film focuses on "Magdalene laundries" or asylums in Ireland, usually run by the Catholic Church. These laundries originally housed former sex workers but later also became a place for women who were the victims of rape. Sometimes, the women housed were social outcasts, abuse victims, and orphans. The women housed in these laundries became known as "fallen women." A gathering of talented actors was put together to play the women in this story.
Actor | Character |
Cillian Murphy | Bill Furlong |
Eileen Walsh | Eileen Furlong |
Emily Watson | Sister Mary |
Claire Dunne | Sister Carmel |
Michelle Fairley | Mrs. Wilson |
Cillian Murphy - Bill Furlong
Date of birth: May 25th 1976
Born in Cork, Ireland, Murphy dropped out of Cork University to focus on his acting career in 1996, which began mainly with stage work and short films. He began finding his footing after starting in the horror film 28 Days Later in 2002. He was awarded a Golden Globe nomination for his work in the 2005 comedy-drama Breakfast On Pluto, where he played a transgender character. His breakout also came in 2005 when he starred in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins as Scarecrow. He has since collaborated with Nolan multiple times, and both have won numerous awards for their collaboration on Oppenheimer.
Notable Movies/TV Shows | Role |
The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005-2012) | Dr. Johnathan Crane/Scarecrow |
Inception (2010) | Robert Fischer |
Peaky Blinder (2013-2022) | Thomas Shelby |
A Quiet Place: Part 2 (2020) | Emmitt |
Oppenheimer (2023) | J Robert Oppenheimer |
Character: Murphy plays coal merchant Bill Furlong, who becomes suspicious of his local convent and works to uncover the secret of the Magdalene laundry they run and the "fallen ladies" they take in.
Eileen Walsh - Eileen Furlong
Date of birth: April 16th 1977
Eileen Walsh was born in Cork, Ireland. She and Murphy worked together on the film Disco Pigs in 2001. A year later, she starred in a movie about a topic similar to this film called The Magdalene Sisters. Walsh has worked mostly on independent Irish productions. She earned an Irish Film and Television Academy award for her work in 2008's Eden. She was recently awarded the Maureen O'Hara Award at the Kerry Film Festival in 2023.
Notable Movie/TV Shows | Role |
The Magdalene Sisters (2002) | Crispina |
Eden (2008) | Brenda Farrell |
Catastrophe (2015-19) | Kate |
Character: Walsh plays the wife of Murphy's character Eileen. The couple share five daughters in the film.
Emily Watson - Sister Mary
Date of birth: January 14th 1967
Emily Watson was born in London and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1992. She has starred in a wide variety of films, earning many accolades. In 1996, she started in her debut film, Breaking The Waves, opposite Stellen Skarsgård, which earned her an Academy Award nomination. She won a British Independent Film Award for her role in Hilary and Jackie. Watson is most known for her work in HBO's Chernobyl, which earned her an Emmy nomination. She will also star in HBO's Dune Prophecy later this year.
Notable Movie/TV Shows | Role |
Breaking The Waves (1996) | Bess McNeill |
Hilary and Jackie (1998) | Jacqueline du Pré |
Gosford Park (2001) | Elsie |
Appropriate Adult (2011) | Janet Leach |
Chernobyl (2019) | Ulyana Khomyuk |
Character: Watson plays Sister Mary, the mother superior of the convent and who is shaping up to be the antagonist of the story.
Claire Dunne - Sister Carmel
Date of birth: April 10th, 1985
Claire Dunne was born in Dublin, Ireland, and began her career on the stage at the National and Abbey Theatres in multiple plays, including Julius Ceasar and Midsummer Night's Dream. She made her major film debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Spider-Man: Far From Home. In 2021, she starred in Ridley Scott's The Last Duel and had a leading role in the Irish crime drama Kin.
Notable Movies/TV Shows
Role
|
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2019) | Victoria |
Herself (2020) | Sandra |
The Last Duel (2021) | Celia |
Kin (2021-23) | Amanda Kinsella |
Character: Dunne plays one of the head nuns. Her character, Sister Carmel, appears to be the right hand of Sister Mary.
Michelle Fairley - Mrs. Wilson
Date of birth: July 11th, 1963
Michelle Fairley was born in Derry, Northern Ireland. Although she started in theatre, most of her work has been in television. However, she has parts in some films. She starred as Hermione Granger's mother in Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows Part 1. She is most famous for her role as Catelyn Stark during the first three seasons of Game of Thrones. She currently plays the main role in multiple television shows, including Gangs of London.
Notable Movies/TV Shows | Role |
Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010) | Mrs. Granger |
Game of Thrones (2011-2013) | Catelyn Stark |
Gangs of London (2020-present) | Marian Wallace |
Character: Fairley plays a wealthy protestant who hires Bill Furlong's mother as a house servant.
Small Things Like These Supporting Cast and Characters
Small Things has a deep supporting cast, which includes the four daughters of Bill Furlong and the local pub owner, Mrs. Kehoe, who knows a lot of the inner workings of Wexford.
Helen Behan | Mrs. Kehoe |
Zara Devlin | Sarah Redmond |
Liadán Dunlea | Kathleen Furlong |
Giulia Doherty | Joan Furlong |
Rachel Lynch | Sheila Furlong |
Aoife Gaffney | Grace Furlong |
Faye Brazil | Loretta Furlong |
Agnes O'Casey | Sarah Furlong |
Mark Mckenna | Ned |
Máire Ní Ghráinne | Sister Anne |
Patricia Twomey | Sister Frances |
Patrick Ryan | Pat |
Peter Claffey | Barry |
Ian O'Reilly | PJ |
Tadhg Moloney | Diarmuid Sinnott |
Joanne Crawford | Norma Sinnott |
Aidan O'Hare | Mick Sinnott |
Abby Fitz | Lisa |
Amy De Bhrun | Emma |
Helen Gregg | Kate |
Claire Monnelly | Niamh |
Hugh Mcallister | Barber |
Director Tim Mielants
Release Date November 1, 2024
Writers Claire Keegan , Enda Walsh
Cast Cillian Murphy , Michelle Fairley , Emily Watson , Clare Dunne , Joanne Crawford , Mark McKenna , Amy De Bhrún , Agnes O'Casey , Eileen Walsh , Abby Fitz , Ian O'Reilly , Helen Behan , Tom Leavey , Cillian O'Gairbhi , Aidan O'Hare , Zara Devlin , Aoife Gaffney , Liadan Dunlea , Ella Cannon , Louis Kirwan , Sarah Morris , Faye Brazil , John McCarthy , Ciarán Hinds Character(s) Bill Furlong , Mrs. Wilson , Sr. Mary , Sr. Carmel , Norma Sinnott , Ned , Emma , Bill's Mother , Eileen Furlong , Lisa , PJ , Mrs. Kehoe , Pub Goer , Sarah's Dad , Mick Sinnott , Sarah Redmond , Grace Furlong , Kathleen Furlong , Laundry Girl , Young Bill Furlong , Sarah's Mother , Loretta Furlong , Father with Boy
Runtime 96 Minutes
Custom image by Yeider Chacon
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English (US) ·