Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight dreamed of turning the crime series into a movie for more than a decade. But the show’s Oscar-winning star, Cillian Murphy, never believed it would happen.
“A film is never real until you’re actually on set,” Murphy, 49, who plays series protagonist Tommy Shelby, said on Obsessed: The Podcast.
“Steve’s amazing because he dreams things into–he manifests things, and then they happen," Murphy, who won his first Oscar in 2024 for his titular role in Oppenheimer, said. “I think I’m much more risk-averse and practical about stuff.”
Since the historical drama, often described as the British Sopranos, premiered in 2013, Murphy has been unable to predict its future. Now, four years after the show ended, he’s back for Netflix’s Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man.
“We did the first season, and we didn’t know we were going to get recommissioned for the second season,” Murphy said. “It was very incremental and slow how the show built to what it became.”
When the show ended in 2022, the finale left Shelby’s future undefined after a false terminal diagnosis gave him a new lease on life. Murphy said he would’ve been content to leave it there.
“I’m a big fan of ambiguity in storytelling. I would’ve been quite happy if that were the ending,” the 28 Days Later star said. “But then, I also love great writing, and I love the character, and I loved playing him.”
“Everyone would ask me, ‘When’s the Peaky movie? When’s the Peaky movie?” And I always said, ‘If there’s more story to tell, I’ll be there,’" Murphy added. “And there was.”
Murphy, who’s been portraying Shelby for nearly 15 years, was initially shocked by his anti-hero character’s warm reception by audiences. He says playing the role for that long revealed “humanity, despite all the terrible deeds and all the values that may be questionable.”
“Ultimately, we’re all human beings. We’re all trying to get through it. And if you don’t ever judge the character and if you try to understand the motivations, then I think you have a chance,” he added.
The film introduces new characters played by acclaimed actors Rebecca Ferguson and Barry Keoghan.
Ferguson is no stranger to dropping into an already developed world, having joined both the Mission: Impossible and Men in Black series after multiple installments.
“It’s all I do. It’s in my contract. Does it have four seasons? Because otherwise I’m not doing it,” Ferguson, who plays twins Zelda and Kaulo in the forthcoming film, quipped.
“I know what I’m coming into. I understand there’s something there, but my job is to create something new and to bring something that feels new, that breaks an already set frequency,” Ferguson added.
Ferguson said she was persistent in getting the role.
“We have the same agent, so I kept on calling him, going, ‘Look, send me a schedule. I’ll be a teacup, I don’t care,’” she joked. “Then it came, funnily enough.”
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man premieres on March 20 on Netflix.
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