Here's Why Oppenheimer's Cillian Murphy Hated Playing Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders
Thomas Shelby, the leader of the notorious Peaky Blinders gang, is Cillian Murphy’s most iconic role — but the actor was not really happy playing the criminal boss.
Cillian Murphy is undoubtedly one of the most brilliant actors of his generation: after all, none other than Christopher Nolan is the biggest fan of his acting talent, and that tells you all you need to know. Despite having worked with the acclaimed director on borderline every movie of his, including the upcoming biopic Oppenheimer, Cillian is largely known for a completely different role.
In Steven Knight’s criminal drama Peaky Blinders, the actor plays the main character, Thomas “Tommy” Shelby — the leader of the notorious gang and the mastermind behind its countless crimes. Murphy’s masterful performance made Tommy one of the most dangerous men you can see on your screen, that’s for sure.
Peaky Blinders is largely loved by audiences all around the world, and there is a plethora of reasons for that. This intense, dark, and brutal show dives head-on into the realities of the criminal underworld, and at the same time puts together an amazing portrayal of the era: the first season starts soon after the Great War.
Cillian Murphy’s acting in Peaky Blinders was immaculate, but the show demanded more than pure talent from the actor. He needed to perfect the accent of a low-class Birmingham gangster (which is as far from intuitive as it gets), learn quite some history, and — worst of all, according to Cillian, — change his appearance.
It wasn’t just about wearing old-fashioned clothes and this weird now-iconic haircut: Murphy had to go through intense training and diets to look like an intimidating mafia boss. The actor was a subtle Irishman, and he needed to become a bulky Gypsy. As Cillian himself admitted, he “wasn’t a very physically imposing person” at the time.
“For the first series of ‘Peaky Blinders,’ they were anxious that I shouldn’t look like a skinny Irish fella, and my trainer recommended meat. <...> I have to eat a lot of protein and lift a lot of weights and do all that stuff. So that takes a while, which I hate,” shared the actor.
It seems like Cillian Murphy was distressed by how long it took him to become Tommy Shelby physically rather than how hard it was. Either way, it worked out beautifully in the end, and his character turned out amazing — and obviously brought immense praise and acclaim to the actor, who now plays the part of J. Robert Oppenheimer in his favorite director Nolan’s upcoming movie.
Source: Mr. Porter Magazine