---
name: "Johnny Murphy"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/johnny-murphy"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "2 October 1943"
died: "22 February 2016"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T21:15:16.704254+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Johnny Murphy

Actor. Born 2 October 1943 in Dublin, Ireland. Died 22 February 2016.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 2 October 1943, Dublin, Ireland
- **Died:** 22 February 2016
- **Also known as:** John Murphy

## Biography

Johnny Murphy was an Irish actor born in Dublin in 1943. He worked primarily in theatre for over five decades, appearing in numerous stage productions. His best-known screen role was as Joey 'The Lips' Fagan, the trumpet-playing band member, in the 1991 film adaptation of *The Commitments* directed by Alan Parker; he was the only professional actor among the largely inexperienced cast.

Murphy appeared in other films including *Into the West* (1992), *War of the Buttons* (1994), *An Awfully Big Adventure* (1995) and *Angela's Ashes* (1999). On stage he played Estragon in the Gate Theatre's 1988 production of *Waiting for Godot*, reprising the role in a 2001 television film. He died in Dublin in 2016.

*Sources: bbc.com, dib.ie, imdb.com, irishtimes.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *The Commitments* (1991), Fi1m 82, as Joey 'The Lips' Fagan — [page](https://film.one/film/the-commitments.md)

## Also known for

- *Angela's Ashes* (1999), Seamus
- *War of the Buttons* (1994), Jonjo
- *An Awfully Big Adventure* (1995), One Eye
- *Into the West* (1992), Tracker

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/johnny-murphy