Is Steve film based on real events?

Steve has just begun screening in selected cinemas following its world premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.

Created by Cillian Murphy's production company, Big Things Films, the Irish actor takes on the leading role as the titular character.

Upon first encountering the narrative, he revealed to Deadline: "It just broke my heart. They're the sorts of things I love as a reader and as a performer."

The cast also features Tracey Ullman as Amanda and Jay Lycurgo as Shy, whom Netflix's Tudum characterises as "a troubled teen caught between his past and what lies ahead as he tries to reconcile his inner fragility with his impulse for self-destruction and violence".

Here's everything you need to know about whether the film drew inspiration from real events.

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Is Steve based on a true story?

Taking place in the mid-90s, Steve reimagines Max Porter's Sunday Times bestselling novel, Shy.

The movie centres on headmaster Steve and his pupils at a final opportunity reform school, and whilst Steve battles to stop its looming shutdown, he wrestles with his own psychological wellbeing.

Writer Porter revealed what sparked the narrative, and whilst it isn't rooted in one particular real incident, it explores deeply authentic subjects.

"It is a book about 1995, that works as a book about now, I hope," Porter explained to Esquire. "I wrote it from a position of absolute horror at the political present.

"Anybody reading this book now, who is awake, will see what the consequences of a place like Last Chance closing is.

"When you close youth clubs and social support systems in inner cities, what happens when you strip the welfare state of funding? These things are obvious and terrifying. Where are we? Where are we going?"

While embodying Steve for the big screen, actor Murphy opened up to Deadline about crafting the character alongside author Max.

He confessed: "I gotta say, it was one of the most kind of exposing and terrifying characters I've ever played, because it was written bespoke for me by Max, but also had, I think, quite a lot of him in there.

"There's elements that I feel like, you know, there was no accent. Max knows me so well at this stage, he would kind of write for the way I go on and talk. So, it was quite terrifying, because there's no real prep needed."

Steve will be showcased in select cinemas from 19 September, before its Netflix debut on 3 October.