Timothy V. Murphy

Using the ancient practice of fixed hour prayer observed by the Abrahamic faith traditions, Praying the Hours personifies each hour into a character to tell a story of a 24-hour day. In the feature film, Traveling Man visits with each of eight friends on the day of his accidental death, and—as he crosses over from this life into the next—sees life anew from the perspective of eternity. In the eight short films that expand the project, the story of each hour is told in more detail.

Here, Director Lauralee Farrer comments on the casting of Timothy V. Murphy as the hour called Vigils in ”The Story of the Doubting Believer.” Vigils is the name of the hour of prayer in the Benedictine tradition that takes place in the dead of night, usually between midnight and 3 a.m.

I am so pleased that award-winning Irish actor Timothy V. Murphy will play the character of Vigils in “The Story of the Doubting Believer.” Tim’s consistent body of work shows he keeps busy in theater, film, television, and commercials. He has a unique generosity toward the independent filmmaker of which I am now twice a beneficiary: he played a supporting role in the romantic comedy Not That Funny (2011) and now, a lead role as part of the ensemble cast of Praying the Hours.

Tim’s television credits include recurring roles on 24, CSI-NY, Criminal Minds, Gemini Division, Alias, and Fastland; he has played lead roles in the recent films To Kill a Memory and Treasure of the Black Jaguar, as well as supporting roles in MacGruber, Appaloosa, and National Treasure: Book of Secrets; and he is a cult success as Grigor, the miniature-giraffe-kissing Russian mogul of the popular DirectTV commercial series.

When I met Tim, I was casting for an Argentine character named Maurice in the light-hearted feature Not That Funny. He was early, waiting in a coffee shop reading Eugene O’Neill. By the end of our conversation, Tim’s interest in the work, his calm spirit, and willingness to take on the independent’s risk was compelling. We stopped auditioning, we scheduled around Tim’s convenience, and the character became an Irishman by the name of O’Neill.

Tim was immediately at the top of a short list of actors to play Vigils. A complicated character, it required someone with range and a quiet thoughtfulness, and an ability to contain contradiction. It’s fashionable to doubt faith, so this is no challenge, but to play the doubting believer requires a willingness to look deeper than stereotypes. Tim’s own journeys have included exploration into ancient practices of faith—he once kept a vow of silence on a dare, and found it to be an intriguingly challenging experience. The style of filmmaking on this production gives a chance for a more complex character to emerge, something that Tim—with many actors—expresses a longing for.