Steven Murphy

Steven attended Winchester University where he received his degree in Theatre Studies. It was the same course he attempted to get onto when he left school, but because he was working full time as a bouncer he was told he wouldn't be able to devote the same time to the course as the other students. A lost decade ensued where he drifted in and out of many employments, unable to settle as he wasn't following his true passion of cinema. After gaining his degree he wrote and staged his play Doorways, based on his 20 years’ experience as a bouncer and soldier. He was then fortunate enough to win two scholarships, one in writing with The National Theatre, and one in acting with the New York Film Academy. He then faced the task of funding himself to live in New York for two years. He bought a taxi to raise the money and entered a cage fighting tournament, unfortunately he broke his leg which abruptly cut his plans short. But every cloud has a silver lining, and these setbacks inspired him to turn Doorways into a feature film independently. He had no experience of film making, no team and no cash. He began realising his dream by raising money locally, selling his taxi, and adapting the screenplay into a script and directing the film himself, only because he couldn't afford a director, he also starred in it. This process was a self-taught apprenticeship, with the only thing to guide him being his love of cinema. He then went on to make his second feature, My Saviour from his original screenplay, using the same strategy of writing, acting, co-producing and directing. During his third independent production, Relentless, he faced many adversities but persevered, and the film won several awards before and after being released. After Relentless, Steven began his biggest project yet. His fourth film, the psychological crime thriller, Skull Hunter. Again, he faced setbacks involving producers, but despite this Steven’s iron will shone through and he got the movie completed and it is currently with distributers. It was at a security job in Cannes at the Raindance Film Festival that he managed to secure funding for Skull Hunter, making this the first of his films which he didn’t have to fund himself by selling possessions and cage fighting. During this, Steven also put himself forward to write a half hour comedy/drama episode for the BBC Writer’s Room, which led to a six-part series. He would go on to produce the pilot himself, Happy Hours. Whilst partially being inspired by the premise of Doorways, it was an ensemble piece set in a run-down pub. As of Summer 2026, he is in the preproduction phase of his fifth film.