Acting is a psychological task as it is a physical one. To make your performance as believable as possible, an actor needs to understand the mind of their characters. However, when you play a role as complex as Tommy Shelby, you are bound to lose yourself. And that’s what happened to Cillian Murphy after playing the role of the great Thomas Shelby for well over a decade.

But now that the Blinders are at rest with the conclusion of their sixth and last season, Cillian finally has revealed the toll he had to pay while playing the man who could speak to spirits. Let us see what Murphy experienced after playing Tommy for years at a stretch.

Cillian Murphy lost his mind while playing Tommy

There are few performances that come near to the way Cillian played Tommy. Just his preparation for the role is enough of a testament to how great Cillian really is while playing Tommy.

However, all greatness comes at a cost, and for Cillian, it was getting completely submerged into Tommy’s consciousness. But the Irish actor being his amazing self actually loved playing such a complex character.

In a new appearance in an interview, the Oppenheimer actor shared how fascinating it was for him to play a character like Tommy for ten years.

“We started shooting this in 2012, so when it comes out, that will be a decade. So it’s a big chapter of my life, a big chunk of my life,” said the actor.

The actor then went on to say how in his 26-year-long career, he had never played a character like Tommy Shelby. He said that he had never grown old with a character or spent the time he did with Tommy.

Cillian stated that his character was on autopilot after a point, especially after the third season.

He said, “series 4, 5, and 6, it was definitely the character was in control of the vehicle if you know what I mean.”

Certainly, Cillian’s journey can be seen in the way he portrayed Tommy over the years on the show. And we shall see him once again in the Peaky Blinders movie.

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