HE famously keeps a low profile away from the celebrity world of La-La Land, but Cillian Murphy is about to jump into the spotlight with a big-budget endorsement.
The Irish star has reportedly signed up for a commercial with the iconic brand Montblanc, famous for its pricey pens.
Due to be shot during the summer, the mega deal will provide a timely boost to the Cork native as he prepares for life after his hit show Peaky Blinders.
But his decision to lend his name to a major label may come as a surprise given that Murphy generally shies away from the red carpet lifestyle, shuns social media and lives a quiet life with his family in Dublin.
However, he’s not the only celebrity to surprise us by signing up for a major ad campaign.
Here, BARRY MORAN looks at some publicity-shy A-listers who’ve said yes to an endorsement deal at the right price.
HELEN MIRREN
SHE’S the queen of cool, regularly outshining women half her age on the red carpet, but Helen Mirren doesn’t play by the rules when it comes to celebrity endorsements.
Despite being the face of skincare brand L’Oreal she once famously admitted that its fancy moisturiser “probably does f*** all”.
And she turned heads in 2010 when she popped up in an ad for Nintendo’s fitness game Wii Fit Plus at the age of 65.
The Academy Award winner was reportedly handsomely compensated for her two days filming the TV advert, which helped prove to audiences that the motion-based game wasn’t just for youngsters.
ROY KEANE
Ireland football legend Roy isn’t well known for his celebrity endorsement deals.
But the former Man United captain famously agreed to flog Walkers Crisps with Gary Lineker during his playing days.
The bizarre ad saw Match of the Day host Lineker wandering around Dublin on St Patrick’s Day with a packet of his favourite crisps.
In the sketch, Lineker is frightened by a man in a sinister leprechaun suit who turns out to be Keane, 49.
Keano recently poked fun at the advert, last week sharing a snap of himself in costume smiling alongside Gary on Instagram.
He captioned the post: “Dressed as a leprechaun chasing Lineker for a bag of crisps. Do me a favour. Up The Irish.”
COLM MEANEY
Screen legend Colm Meaney tends to do most of his acting on the big screen.
But in recent years the Snapper actor has lent his face to a number of quirky TV ad campaigns.
Last year the Star Trek star featured in a series of adverts for Paddy Power ahead of the Cheltenham Festival.
In them, Meanie references the way English people mock the Irish for how they say “thirty-three” and says they have no right considering English people can’t even pronounce “Siobhan.”
The Dubliner also starred in ads for supermarket chain Aldi, playing the role of Santa Claus alongside Kevin the Carrot.
He explained: “Kevin the Carrot and his family were incredibly welcoming on set and the whole experience was a total joy – even getting in and out of the big red suit.”
SYLVESTER STALLONE
OVER the years, the man behind Rocky Balboa has made a tidy few bob from his endorsements, but they’ve generally followed a particular theme in line with his action man image.
So imagine the shock when it was discovered he had appeared in a Japanese ad flogging Knorr soup IN THE 1980s.
The bizarre clip saw him working out topless in front of a bunch of slack-jawed kids before tucking into a steaming bowl of soup.
While it was only screened in Japan, it eventually wound its way online, resulting in much mockery.
BOB DYLAN
Veteran entertainer Bob Dylan doesn’t do many interviews.
But the iconic Hurricane rocker shocked his army of fans when he appeared in a commercial for lingerie giant Victoria’s Secret back in 2004.
The clip features one of Dylan’s songs and an unusual appearance by the songwriting great, 79.
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Victoria’s Secret creative director, Ed Razek admitted it was a “stunningly bold” idea to approach Dylan for the role.
He explained: We called his management, they found a two-day hole in his schedule, and off we went to Venice.”
Asked why Dylan had agreed, Razek added: ”I can’t speak for his motivation, but it certainly wouldn’t be commercial.”