Cillian Murphy, who crawled into our lives when he first put on the Scarecrow mask in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins not only became a practically regular face to spot among the rare host of Nolan films but soon went on to become Thomas Fookin’ Shelby, a character that has as much of a cult-like following as its actor.
However, the decade-long drama that has occupied the interest of the global audience from 18 to 80 began with a grave error on the part of the then-casting department of Peaky Blinders. As it turns out, the brilliant, iconic, and hypnotizing Murphy was never on the list of potential candidates being considered for the role of Tommy Shelby.
Cillian Murphy Makes It To The Top Without Being Considered
In the history of film and television roles, there have been a handful of actors who were ever tailored for portraying a specific character, and they have been lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time. Be it Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, Heath Ledger as the Joker, or Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump, no one else can ever be envisioned in these roles, doing justice to their respective parts, as well as these actors. Cillian Murphy similarly cuts it among the A-Team when he was cast in the BBC historical fiction and crime drama series, Peaky Blinders.
However, the lesser-known fact from the era is how the Irishman never was on Steven Knight’s radar in the first place when the series creator was on the lookout for his leading man. When The Guardian later interviewed him, Knight recalled: “Nothing really set Cillian up as the obvious choice.” But as all serendipitous moments, Knight and Murphy connected over a text when the latter learned about the role and projected an interest.
“[Murphy texted] Remember, I’m an actor. What he meant by the text was that when he walks into a room, he’s not Tommy Shelby. But he can become him. He inhabits that role completely. It’s phenomenal. It is impossible to imagine anybody else playing him.”
Cillian Murphy would go on to portray the role of Thomas Shelby in a six-season run after launching in 2013. The season finale ended in 2022.
Cillian Murphy Rises To the Top With Nolan’s Oppenheimer
Like Christian Bale in The Prestige and Leonardo DiCaprio in Inception, Christopher Nolan sets out to model the tragic antihero of his tale and forever etch him in the upper echelons of cinematic creations with his upcoming drama, Oppenheimer. A tale set to be as bold as it is beautiful, and as haunting as it is brave, Cillian Murphy takes over the reins from Christopher Nolan and sets out to portray his anachronistic vision of the past and the destruction that was to follow in its wake through the eyes and lens of J. Robert Oppenheimer.
Oppenheimer opens in theatres on July 21, 2023.
Source: The Guardian
