Peaky Blinders: Playing Thomas Shelby Was an Actual Struggle For Cillian Murphy
There’s a reason why people become actors.
If there's one show on television today that is both extremely dark and sadly romantic, it's definitely Peaky Blinders. It's hard to find a person who hasn't fallen in love with the show's atmosphere and, of course, its main character.
Thomas Shelby became a TV icon for being this masculine hero, tough enough to run the whole mob and smart enough to make anything he wants work. But the main reason for Shelby's character to become such a hit among the fans is of course Cillian Murphy.
The Irish actor actually owned the role, he almost made it a real part of himself. And now it’s actually impossible to imagine anyone else being Tommy except for him. But as it turned out, he wasn’t the first choice for the role. And there were some major reasons for that.
Actually, those are reasons why after finally being cast, Murphy was faced with a lot of tough moments while becoming Shelby. The thing is, the actor describes himself as “not a tough guy at all”. And playing Thomas Shelby was the biggest challenge in his whole career.
“It was by far the toughest character I have ever portrayed, and him being so physical and the amount of respect and fear that this family has in this town means that we all had to look tough”, he said in the interview with BBC.
In order to fit into the role, Murphy put a lot of time and effort into really becoming the guy he will be portraying for many episodes. The actor revealed that while preparing for the role, he went to the gym more times than he had in his entire life.
He also learned how to professionally ride a horse. And while the whole process was a physical and emotional torture, Murphy was truly grateful for the opportunity to be a part of such a great show.
What's more, Murphy believes it's perfectly fine for an actor to become someone else on set. It's literally part of what it means to be an actor. And he loves it.
Source: BBC