When renowned screenwriter Steven Knight set about formulating what would become one of his best creations, the modern gangster classic television series Peaky Blinders, he had a very important choice to make. He already had his main character fully fleshed out: Thomas Shelby, an ambitious, emotionally shut-off war veteran who conducts himself like he’s already dead and living on borrowed time. Knight was deliberating between two very different actors when deciding who best had the s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁s to embody Shelby. One of these men was an icon of the Irish acting scene, able to be in almost any kind of film you can imagine. The other was an icon of the rough and tumble action film scene, equally capable of fighting off sharks and jump-kicking down doors. It was the matchup nobody could have foreseen, Cillian Murphy vs. Jason Statham.
Cillian Murphy’s Text to Steven Knight Gave Him the Upper Hand Over Jason Statham
Knight has told the story that he was torn between going with either of these two masters of the brood and the grumbling voice. According to The Independent, he said that he “met them both in LA to talk about the role and opted for Jason…because physically in the room Jason is Jason.” You have to imagine that what he means by this is that Statham is a very impressive physical specimen in person, and that his tough guy persona is not entirely an act. Knight followed up by mentioning how Murphy “isn’t Tommy, obviously, but I was stupid enough not to understand that.” In his defense, Murphy is an incredibly soft-spoken and gentle soul, leagues away from the calculating 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁er Knight was looking for.
Seemingly sensing a disturbance in the Force, Murphy decided to pull a true giga-Chad move to ensure he’d get the role. Knight said that one day he received a text from Murphy, and what did that text say? “Remember, I’m an actor.” At that moment, Knight realized that Murphy “can transform himself. If you meet him in the street, he is a totally different human being.” Knight was finally able to see past Murphy’s introverted exterior and realize he had what it took to live up to the Peaky Blinders standard.
