Cillian Murphy on Becoming Thomas Shelby | Rotten Tomatoes TV

As the final season of “Peaky Blinders” comes to Netflix, Rotten Tomatoes caught up with star Cillian Murphy to talk about how he became gangster Thomas Shelby and what attracted him to the role. Starting with a serendipitous request he made of his agent to pursue an exciting TV role in a British series that carried the weight of HBO’s “The Wire,” Murphy talks about the research he did into World War I for the series created by Steven Knight, as well as the importance of his costars and other characters in the series, like “his closest confidant” Polly, played by actress Helen McCrory, who died in 2021. PTSD and personal trauma defines the character, who progresses from war veteran to violent gangster to political operative over the course of the series. “He’s burdened by his intellect,” Murphy says, explaining the character’s relationships and ambitions. The actor also explains details like the “brutal” haircut and the gang’s fashions that have defined the look of the show. He calls the death of Grace (Annab