The thing about big stars and well-known faces is that they often overpower everything else around them. It is not even something that they desire to do, but it is just something that happens naturally. Their sheer brilliance in the craft entitles them to all that love and attention. Similar is the case for Cillian Murphy, who has been the face of BBC’s crime drama series Peaky Blinders for the last 10 years and 6 seasons. But that is what we see from the outside. How does it feel working with such an alluring actor? Let’s find out.

Ahead of the release of the last season of the series on Netflix, let us look at some instances where Cillian Murphy was the talking point for media and the people who work with him on the period drama series. Spoiler Alert! They are all praising him because he is indeed a fabulous actor and also a beautiful human being.

Peaky Blinders’ writer talks about the

real-life personality of Cillian Murphy

While describing how Cillian Murphy is in real life, writer Steven Knight chose the words “very private” and “affable”. It indeed says a lot about him. We are so used to seeing the unfriendly, gangster face of Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby that we often take that to be his actual personality. This is indeed not the case with him. “As a friend he’s open, he’s affable, he’s a real laugh,” says Knight.

Steven also revealed how important having these two distinct personalities is for actors. “If you’re in the spotlight, you have to have two personalities. One is for when you’re being observed, and one is for when you’re just a normal bloke, which is what he is,” he added.

Joe Cole and Annabelle Wallis on Cillian’s acting skills and his charisma

While the show itself features a plethora of enigmatic characters, there is only the character of Tommy Shelby that truly captures the eyes of the audience for all times. It indeed feels like his show. This is also the reason actor Joe Cole, who played the role of John Shelby on the show, left. “It was Cillian’s show, really,” he said.

“The beauty of the character is that he says one thing, but he’s got empathy in his eyes,” says Annabelle Wallis, who played Grace Shelby on the show. She reveals it is indeed an arduous task to look away from Cillian’s eyes, because of the Irish coloring that the actor possesses: “the dark hair and the light eyes“. Annabelle believes that the only difference between great actors and good actors is their eyes. And the reason the audience is okay with Tommy doing all the horrific things is that he has pretty eyes. “I believe on a subconscious level that’s why the audience continues to love the character despite all the terrible things he does,” she added.

What are your thoughts on Cillian Murphy and his performance as Tommy Shelby on Peaky Blinders? Let us know in the comments below.