Cillian Murphy Wasn't the First Choice For The Role Of Thomas Shelby, But Luckily He Got The Part

Anyone who has seen the iconic Peaky Blinders series knows for a fact that any other actor playing Thomas Shelby would never work. However, it turns out that Cillian Murphy wasn't always the first choice for the role.

Tommy Shelby should have been portrayed as this brave, masculine, alpha-male character who is not afraid of anything and is always ahead of the game. But with Murphy in the role, we got this and even more.

Cillian Murphy's unique looks made fans (especially the female part of them) fall in love with the character, despite all his flaws and controversial feelings. The actor's amazing deep blue eyes and childish face full of sadness made it impossible to resist Tommy or even consider him a villainous character.

For this reason, it came as a shock to many fans that Murphy was not the first choice for the lead role in Peaky Blinders. It was actually Jason Statham who was considered for the part of Tommy.

The thing is, Jason Statham has a huge history of playing alpha-male characters with strong physiques, so it was only natural for the Peaky Blinders producers to consider him. But as the show's director and producer Steven Knight said, he was easily persuaded by a simple phrase Cillian Murphy said to end his hesitation.

"Remember, I'm an actor," Murphy said to Knight, and that sealed the deal.

The Irish actor has many times shared in various interviews that he always tries to challenge himself in terms of picking roles.

"The thing about acting is you shouldn't be limited. I've always tried to do the unexpected or play roles that are challenging so that you never get trapped in a career," he said to EW.

For Murphy, the role of the head of the Irish mafia became a true career-defining point. By playing someone who was generally considered to be out of his league, he finally proved to everyone he was an A-list actor who could go above and beyond.

And he clearly has no intention of stopping there. Be sure to see Murphy in his latest role as J. Robert Oppenheimer, the inventor of the atomic bomb, in Christopher Nolan 's biopic when it premieres in theaters on July 21.

Source: Entertainment Weekly