The Extreme Lengths Cillian Murphy Went To For His Peaky Blinders Role

If you've seen "Peaky Blinders," you probably can't imagine someone better in the role of Tommy Shelby than Cillian Murphy himself. Murphy was excellent in the leading performance, and he took his character seriously, even going to extreme lengths to ensure that he was the best fit for the job — literally.

"Peaky Blinders" was a television phenomenon that ran for nearly a decade with Murphy at the center. Fans couldn't get enough of the show, and for Murphy, it became an integral part of his life. He told Entertainment Weekly, "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."

It may be hard to believe, but Murphy nearly lost his role as Tommy Shelby to fellow actor Jason Statham. It wasn't until series creator Steven Knight received a text from Murphy after his audition that guaranteed his role as Tommy Shelby, per Esquire. He simply texted Knight, "Remember, I'm an actor," and that was it, he got the role. 

Knight knew Murphy was the right choice. "It's a cliché, but no one else could have been Tommy Shelby," the writer told Esquire. "It would be absurd. It was as if Cillian was always waiting." The text proved that Murphy was willing to do just about anything to play Tommy Shelby — but it wasn't just the message that proved it.

Cillian Murphy is an extremely talented actor and takes his roles seriously. So when the show's producers expressed concern about whether Murphy's thin figure would fit the role of Tommy Shelby on "Peaky Blinders," he decided to put on some weight by ditching his vegetarian diet.

The future "Oppenheimer" star had been vegetarian for 15 years before giving it all up for the role of a lifetime. He revealed to Mr. Porter that his trainer suggested he start eating meat to bulk up for "Peaky Blinders." Murphy went on to explain why he went vegetarian in the first place, and it wasn't for a "moral" reason. As he put it, "It was more that I was worried about getting mad cow disease." Wanting to be the perfect fit for Tommy Shelby, he decided to eat meat. Recalling his first time breaking his vegetarian diet, he shared, "When the waiter asked if I'd like the fish or the venison, I hesitated and he said, 'Have the venison.' He was right. It was extraordinary."

Murphy may have given up being vegetarian during his run on "Peaky Blinders," but he found his way back to the diet. After the show wrapped in 2022, he revealed to The Guardian, "I was vegetarian for a long time then I relapsed and now I've relapsed back to vegetarianism. My wife is, too."

"Peaky Blinders" wouldn't be the end of Cillian Murphy's dieting days. When the actor landed his role as J. Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan's acclaimed biopic, he went on another diet. This time, it was the opposite of his regimen for "Peaky Blinders."

In May 2023, Murphy revealed he likes to fit his body to the role he is playing. He told The New York Times, "I love acting with my body, and Oppenheimer had a very distinct physicality and silhouette, which I wanted to get right," he explained. "I had to lose quite a bit of weight, and we worked with the costume and tailoring; he was very slim, almost emaciated, existed on martinis and cigarettes." 

His co-star, Emily Blunt, had seen the lengths Murphy went to lose weight. She told Extra TV, "He had such a monumental undertaking. And he could only eat, like, an almond every day. He was so emaciated." Another "Oppenheimer" co-star, Matt Damon, even revealed to Extra that Murphy would never attend cast dinners because he wouldn't eat. 

Clearly, Murphy went to the extreme to achieve his thinner figure, but he definitely doesn't recommend the mindset he had. He told The Guardian, "You become competitive with yourself a little bit which is not healthy. I don't advise it." Regardless, it's clear that Cillian Murphy is willing to do just about anything for a role.