Steven Joseph-Murphy

Steven first attempted to get on to his local drama course, after leaving school. But because he was working full-time as a bouncer and care worker, he was told ‘he wouldn’t fit in’.

Steven tried again the next year at 18, but this time was told his lifestyle ‘Wasn’t conducive to the course’, and that he ‘wouldn’t fit in’. Steven was heartbroken as he felt his dreams were over before they had begun. 15 chaotic years in the wilderness and of self-destruction ensued, as he became frustrated as he was t following his dream and passion. As a very last chance to rescue his life, which was going nowhere, he applied to the same drama degree again. This time it was a different tutor and he got on. He gained his theatre Degree.

Steven decided he was going to write a play about everything he was feeling in life. Frustrated about lost goals, lost time, lost dreams and relationships. He was a bouncer at the time and wrote a two man play called DOORWAYS. It centred around an older, bitter and self-destructive bouncer, who’s paired with a young man starting his first night. It was a great success and sold out three nights. It led to a two-year writing scholarship with The National Theatre. And also, an acting scholarship with NEW YORK FILM Academy. Steven needed to raise funds to live in Manhattan for a year, so he bought a taxi to work around the clock and entered a cage fighting tournament for a cash prize. Unfortunately, he broke his leg in the fight, so the New York dream was over.

Undeterred, Steven vowed to turn DOORWAYS into a feature film himself. He sold his taxi, sold possessions and pitched to local business to raise a miniscule budget. With no money or training, just a passion for cinema, he made his feature film. Writing/directing/co-producing and acting in it. Three years later, he made his second feature, MY SAVIOUR and his third feature, RELENTLESS, in 2018, the same way.

For his most recent feature, SKULLHUNTER, he knew this required a budget and couldn’t be made the same way. After ten years of trying, he gained investment. SKULLHUNTER was made in 2023 and has now gained a distributor.

In 2023, Steven starred in POPEYE’S REVENGE. A horror take on POPEYE. It’s on Amazon Prime and the DVD is in HMV and supermarkets.

POPEYE 2 is out this year.