Cillian Murphy, the protagonist of Peaky Blinder shares the story of his first interaction with the character Tommy Shelby

&#8220;That text may be apocryphal&#8221;: Cillian Murphy Spills The Tea About His Text To Steven Knight And Playing The Hyper-Masculine Thomas Shelby

Peaky Blinders, set in a world of deception and gangsterism, has always shocked
the spectators with the release of every new season. The plot revolves around
the world, where characters are always hanging at the point of a gun. And
viewers attribute this enormous popularity to the hands of our fierce
protagonist Tommy Shelby, played by Cillian Murphy. Murphy immortalized Tommy
Shelby with his performance, but the actor was not the first choice to play
Tommy. So how did he bag the role?


CILLIAN MURPHY SHARES HIS EXPERIENCE PLAYING THE CENTRAL ROLE IN PEAKY BLINDERS

Today, Cillian Murphy [http://Netflixjunkie.com/tag/cillian-murphy] is
synonymous with Tommy Shelby and one cannot imagine one without the other.
However, it wasn’t always the case. The actor wasn’t considered for the role and
he had to text director Steven Knight personally. Part of his text to Knight
included “remember I’m an actor.” Needless to day, he bagged the role and we are
all glad for what followed for next six seasons and a decade.

Years later in his interview with Entertainment Weekly, he calls the text
“apocryphal”. And he is okay with that because in the beginning even Murphy
wasn’t sure if he could play a “hyper-masculine character” like Tommy Shelby. At
that point in his career, he had never a played a character even remotely
similar to the physically imposing Shelby
[https://netflixjunkie.com/netflix-news-the-character-was-in-control-cillian-murphy-describes-what-being-tommy-shelby-for-a-decade-is-like/].

[data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==]

However, none of the doubts mattered. Murphy found the story cool and considered
Tommy to be a “gift of a role“. Then it was about convincing the creators that
he could become the character. The need to flip the script
[https://netflixjunkie.com/netflix-news-hawk-cobra-kai/] and do something
different with his career was also his motivation behind wanting to work in
Peaky Blinders.

“But that’s the thing about acting, you shouldn’t be limited,” said
[https://ew.com/tv/peaky-blinders-season-6-cillian-murphy-interview/#:~:text=Steven%20still%20recalls,in%20a%20career]
the Oppenheimer
[https://netflixjunkie.com/netflix-news-cillian-murphy-peaky-blinders-and-florence-pugh-litte-women-continue-to-maintain-their-streak-of-period-dramas-and-these-pictures-show-why/]
actor. He explained that by saying how the industry will expect you to do roles
you did well in the past. This is why Murphy constantly tries to pick up
unexpected roles and projects.

ALSO READ: Fans Obsess Over Their Favorite Cillian Murphy Characters on the
Genius Actor’s 46th Birthday, Tommy Shelby Rules
[https://netflixjunkie.com/netflix-news-fans-obsess-over-their-favorite-cillian-murphy-characters-on-the-genius-actors-46th-birthday-tommy-shelby-rules/]

This approach seems to be working for the actor because even though his previous
roles were entirely different from Tommy’s, his stint at Peaky Blinders
[http://Netflixjunkie.com/tag/peaky-blinders] turned out great. And boy, are we
fans glad that the actor chose not to limit his career and instead picked up
Tommy. Who else would we be collectively crushing on?

What are your thoughts on Murphy’s journey to becoming Tommy?

Shikha Arya

Comment

&#8220;That text may be apocryphal&#8221;: Cillian Murphy Spills The Tea About His Text To Steven Knight And Playing The Hyper-Masculine Thomas Shelby - Netflix Junkie

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Shikha Arya is an experienced entertainment writer at Netflix Junkie, having contributed over 1000 articles to the platform. She holds a Master's degree in English Literature from a prestigious university and has honed her writing skills over three years. Shikha's forte lies in crafting thought-provoking pieces about the lives of pop culture icons. When it comes to shows and movies, she has a soft spot for cult classics like Stranger Things, Sandman, and period dramas like Bridgerton. Shikha is always in tune with the latest happenings in the entertainment industry and keeps a finger on the pulse of what's trending. Beyond writing, she finds peace and tranquility in reading and cycling, which help her unwind after a long day.

https://netflixjunkie.com/netflix-news-that-text-may-be-apocryphal-cillian-murphy-spills-the-tea-about-his-text-to-steven-knight-and-playing-the-hyper-masculine-thomas-shelby

&#8220;That text may be apocryphal&#8221;: Cillian Murphy Spills The Tea About His Text To Steven Knight And Playing The Hyper-Masculine Thomas Shelby - netflix-junkie

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Peaky Blinders, set in a world of deception and gangsterism, has always shocked the spectators with the release of every new season. The plot revolves around the world, where characters are always hanging at the point of a gun. And viewers attribute this enormous popularity to the hands of our fierce protagonist Tommy Shelby, played by Cillian Murphy. Murphy immortalized Tommy Shelby with his performance, but the actor was not the first choice to play Tommy. So how did he bag the role?
<h2>Cillian Murphy shares his experience playing the central role in Peaky Blinders</h2>
Today, <a href="http://Netflixjunkie.com/tag/cillian-murphy">Cillian Murphy</a> is synonymous with Tommy Shelby and one cannot imagine one without the other. However, it wasn&#8217;t always the case. The actor wasn&#8217;t considered for the role and he had to text director Steven Knight personally. Part of his text to Knight included &#8220;remember I&#8217;m an actor.&#8221; Needless to day, he bagged the role and we are all glad for what followed for next six seasons and a decade. 
Years later in his interview with Entertainment Weekly, he calls the text &#8220;apocryphal&#8221;. And he is okay with that because in the beginning even Murphy wasn&#8217;t sure if he could play a &#8220;hyper-masculine character&#8221; like Tommy Shelby. At that point in his career, he had never a played a character even remotely similar to the <a href="https://netflixjunkie.com/netflix-news-the-character-was-in-control-cillian-murphy-describes-what-being-tommy-shelby-for-a-decade-is-like/">physically imposing Shelby</a>.
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-34820 lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" data-src="https://netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/image.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1333" data-sizes="auto" data-srcset="https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/image.jpg 2000w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/image-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/image-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/image-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/image-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/image-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px" />
However, none of the doubts mattered. Murphy found the story cool and considered Tommy to be a &#8220;gift of a role&#8220;. Then it was about convincing the creators that he could become the character. The need to <a href="https://netflixjunkie.com/netflix-news-hawk-cobra-kai/">flip the script</a> and do something different with his career was also his motivation behind wanting to work in Peaky Blinders.
&#8220;But that&#8217;s the thing about acting, you shouldn&#8217;t be limited,&#8221; <a href="https://ew.com/tv/peaky-blinders-season-6-cillian-murphy-interview/#:~:text=Steven%20still%20recalls,in%20a%20career" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> the <a href="https://netflixjunkie.com/netflix-news-cillian-murphy-peaky-blinders-and-florence-pugh-litte-women-continue-to-maintain-their-streak-of-period-dramas-and-these-pictures-show-why/">Oppenheimer</a> actor. He explained that by saying how the industry will expect you to do roles you did well in the past. This is why Murphy constantly tries to pick up unexpected roles and projects.
ALSO READ: <a href="https://netflixjunkie.com/netflix-news-fans-obsess-over-their-favorite-cillian-murphy-characters-on-the-genius-actors-46th-birthday-tommy-shelby-rules/">Fans Obsess Over Their Favorite Cillian Murphy Characters on the Genius Actor’s 46th Birthday, Tommy Shelby Rules</a>
This approach seems to be working for the actor because even though his previous roles were entirely different from Tommy&#8217;s, his stint at <a href="http://Netflixjunkie.com/tag/peaky-blinders">Peaky Blinders</a> turned out great. And boy, are we fans glad that the actor chose not to limit his career and instead picked up Tommy. Who else would we be collectively crushing on?
What are your thoughts on Murphy&#8217;s journey to becoming Tommy?

Fans Obsess Over Their Favorite Cillian Murphy Characters on the Genius Actor’s
46th Birthday, Tommy Shelby Rules

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"That text may be apocryphal": Cillian Murphy Spills The Tea About His Text To Steven Knight And Playing The Hyper-Masculine Thomas Shelby - Netflix Junkie

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&quot;That text may be apocryphal&quot;: Cillian Murphy Spills The Tea About His Text To Steven Knight And Playing The Hyper-Masculine Thomas Shelby - Netflix Junkie

https://www.netflixjunkie.com/netflix-news-that-text-may-be-apocryphal-cillian-murphy-spills-the-tea-about-his-text-to-steven-knight-and-playing-the-hyper-masculine-thomas-shelby/

“That text may be apocryphal”: Cillian Murphy Spills The Tea About His Text To Steven Knight And Playing The Hyper-Masculine Thomas Shelby

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