Why Cillian Murphy Wasn't Close With His Peaky Blinders Co-Stars

Cillian Murphy first became a household name when he was cast to star in Netflix's hit crime drama "Peaky Blinders" in 2013. In the show, he played Thomas Shelby, the cunning and ambitious leader of a powerful street gang from 1900s Birmingham known for sewing razor blades into their hats, which they would use to blind or slash their enemies. The series, which ran for six seasons until 2022, also starred Helen McCrory and Paul Anderson, with Tom Hardy, Annabelle Wallis, and Sam Neill. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly about his breakthrough role, Murphy said he felt a "slight hesitation" prior to joining the show. "I'd never really played that physically imposing sort of hyper-masculine-type character. In fact, I'd probably played the opposite up to that point," he explained. "But I knew that it was such amazing material and I knew that it was a gift of a role and I just needed to convince them that I could do it and I could work to become that physically imposing character."

In an interview with The Guardian ahead of the series finale, Murphy reflected on playing Tommy throughout the show's run. "It feels like the end of something," he said. He added that he will miss working with his castmates: "It's strange talking about it. ... It's the end of 10 years of my life; a big adventure with lots of colleagues and people that you became very close to." 

But what of Murphy's relationship with his co-stars? Well, it turns out they didn't spend much time together off-set because they already saw too much of each other during the show's intense filming schedule (and COVID didn't help).

While it seems the "Peaky Blinders" crew did get along great on set, Cillian Murphy revealed a surprising truth about the cast's off-screen relationships, telling Variety that they didn't actually hang out together much beyond filming. The actor spoke with the outlet while reflecting on the 10th anniversary of the show in 2022 and explained why their off-set interactions were limited. "It's been an adventure!" Murphy said of his relationship with his co-stars. "Throughout 'Peaky' there's been a lot of different cast members, and we've had other directors." He added, "[But] because it is such an intense shoot due to the nature of the material, and because we are working about 16 hours a day for about five months, we don't tend to hang out socially when we aren't shooting. ... I think that's only because we see so much of each other when we work."

Later in the interview, Murphy cited the COVID pandemic as another reason he wasn't able to form a connection with his co-stars. Despite this, Murphy stressed that he enjoyed working with the whole team and has learned a great deal from his castmates. Meanwhile, in his interview with The Guardian, Murphy noted that he really doesn't go out much anyway. "Cillian's not silly," his co-star, Sam Neill, also told the outlet. "He does not splash his life around," adding that when it comes to work, Murphy "is extremely diligent and extremely good at what he does." 

Among his former co-stars, there was one actor whom Cillian Murphy had grown especially fond of during his time working on "Peaky Blinders," and that was Helen McCrory, who played his aunt Polly Gray in the BBC and Netflix crime series. Murphy spoke about their close bond during his guest appearance on BBC Radio 1 in 2022 when asked which of his castmates on the show made him laugh the most on-set. "I would have to say Helen, actually. We were very, very good buddies on that show, and she was a very, very funny lady," he responded. "You know, it's important on this show because a lot of these scenes are so bloody intense and so demanding, sort of psychologically, and you're going places that are difficult enough to go to. So you have to have some levity to balance it up, and I always had an amazing laugh with Helen," he added.

Unfortunately, McCrory passed away from breast cancer in April 2021 at age 52, leaving Murphy and the whole "Peaky Blinders" cast in shock. "I've never lost anyone like that — who was young and a friend," Murphy told Esquire of McCrory's tragic death. "It was very confusing." He added, "She was a dear, dear pal ... so it felt very strange being on set without her." He then described his late co-star as the heart of the show. "She was magnificent," Murphy said. "She was an absolutely magnificent person."