Trivia / Peaky Blinders

• All-Star Cast: The show has managed to attract a large number of well-known film actors to its cast, including but not limited to Cillian Murphy, Helen McCrory, Sam Neill, Tom Hardy, Adrien Brody, and Aidan Gillen, among others.
• The Character Died with Him: Polly Gray is killed off by the IRA after actress Helen McCrory passed away from breast cancer between seasons 5 and 6.
• Dawson Casting: Tommy's age in the pilot is given as 29, which would make him 22 in the World War I flashbacks. Cillian Murphy was 37 during the first season. Has anyone checked his attic for a portrait?!
• Fake American: In a way with the American Gina Grey. She's portrayed by Anya Taylor-Joy, who was born in America, but grew up until age six in Argentina and from then on in England.
• Fake Brit:
  • Irishman Cillian Murphy playing Brummie Thomas Shelby.
  • Australian Noah Taylor as Anglo-Italian gangster Darby Sabini.
• Fake Irish:
  • Annabelle Wallis is from England.
  • Sam Neill is a subversion; he was born in Northern Ireland, and his character is from Northern Ireland, but he's more frequently billed from where he grew up in New Zealand.
  • Paddy Considine is from England, but plays Irish priest Father Hughes.
• Fake Nationality:
  • Alfie Solomons, a London Jew, is played by the decidedly not Jewish Tom Hardy, who is of Anglo-Irish descent.
  • The Sicilian-American Luca Changretta is portrayed by Adrien Brody, who is of Polish and Hungarian Jewish descent.
• Fake Scot: Irish actor Brian Gleeson as Jimmy McCavern.
• Production Posse: Tom Hardy was cast as Alfie Solomons because creator Steven Knight had just directed him in Locke a few months before they begun casting for season 2. Also a factor was Hardy's acting relationship with Cillian Murphy (Tommy).
• Real-Life Relative:
  • Joe and Finn Cole (John Shelby and Michael Gray) are brothers in real life, though not on the show (they're cousins).
  • Charlotte Riley (May Carleton) and Tom Hardy (Alfie Solomons) are a couple in real life.
• Separated-at-Birth Casting: The casting department on Peaky Blinders really must be commended. Cillian Murphy, Paul Anderson, and Joe Cole as the three eldest Shelby brothers all share the same blue eyes and jawline, and Anderson in particular is a dead ringer for a younger Tommy Flanagan, who plays their father. Among the ladies, Helen McCrory and Sophie Rundle could play mother and daughter, not aunt and niece, and they both share similar features with the men of the family. Youngest Shelby brother Finn as played by Alfie Evans-Meese wasn't as close a fit, resemblance-wise, but Harry Kirton as the teenaged Finn looks exactly like Cole. Not to mention Joe Cole's younger brother Finn playing Michael Gray, who also looks as if he could be Helen McCrory's son.
• Teasing Creator: There's been a big backlash from some parts of the fandom in reaction to the death of Grace in season 3. Not helping is the varying reactions of the creator/actors - writer/creator Steven Knight says she's dead, but seems to like poking the fanbase about it; actor/executive producer Cillian Murphy says he's disappointed, but she's dead; actress Annabelle Wallis seems to be playing it coy, questioning if Grace somehow survived and acting as if she may return. So basically God and Sts Paul and Peter are arguing amongst themselves. Season 5 clarifies some of the confusion with Grace still being dead, but the actress does return in hallucinations.
• The Other Darrin:
  • In seasons 2-4, Isiah Jesus is played by Jordan Bolger, but in season five, Daryl McCormack takes over.
  • Winston Churchill is played by Andy Nyman in seasons 1-2. He's played by Neil Maskell in season five.

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