While it is quite impossible to imagine Peaky Blinders without Cillian Murphy, he wasn’t the show creators’ first choice to play Thomas Shelby. The ruthless leader of the 1920s and 30s Birmingham crime gang played by Murphy is one of his most memorable performances yet.
Who Did Steven Knight Want For Thomas Shelby Instead of Cillian Murphy?
In 2019, Steven Knight did a live watch-along on Esquire UK’s YouTube channel, where he answered a bunch of fan questions. When a fan enquired Knight about when did he decide that Cillian Murphy will play the role of Tommy Shelby, he responded-
“There was never anybody else even talked about at any point. I just made a film with Jason Statham if you can imagine the two of them in this. Jason’s brilliant, he’s just different. But for that role I was considering Cillian and Jason. I met them both in Los Angeles to talk about the role and opted for Jason. One of the reasons was physically in the room Jason is Jason. Cillian, when you meet him, isn’t Tommy, obviously, but I was stupid enough not to understand that.”
Knight further added how he soon realised that Cillian Murphy was a great actor after having seen his work and speaking to him. He stated that Murphy’s dedication to the character was extraordinary.
“When this came up and I sort of realized how great an actor he was. Having seen stuff in order to assess for casting. And then [Cillian] came and we talked, there’s a few of us, shortly after he sent a text saying ‘remember I’m an actor.’ He can transform himself to the extent that you see on the screen now, where if you meet him in the street, it’s a totally different human being.”
“What he can do is extraordinary with himself, with his whole presence of who he is. It takes a lot of dedication and natural ability. He can become that person on-screen and maintain that for the duration of the shoot. Not that he’s like that between takes but there’s a way of moving, a way of being that he masters, that is extraordinary.”
You can watch the full video clip below.
Cillian Murphy Talking About Peaky Blinder’s Audition Process
In an interview with The Guardian in 2021, Murphy revealed how had to convince the creator of the show, Steven Knight, to get the role. He said,
“There was a bit of convincing needed. Initially, there may have been some doubts about whether I had the requisite physicality, which I understand. I’m not the most physically imposing individual.”
He was asked in another interview about how he prepares for the role of Thomas Shelby. He attributed his preparation to a little bit of workout, a change in voice, and hair.
“I’m not the most imposing of individuals in my own life, so I go to the gym and lift things and put them down again. I dropped the level of Tommy’s voice. Then there’s the cigarettes, of course. And the hair, of course, played a part in all this.”
Cillian Murphy will be next seen in Christopher Nolan‘s upcoming historical drama, Oppenheimer, on July 21, 2023. The movie shares the release date with Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. Murphy plays the lead role of J. Robert Oppenheimer, alongside Robert Downey Jr, Florence Pugh, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Rami Malek, Gary Oldman, Josh Hartnett, etc.
