A simple Father’s Day text ended up shaping the most important casting of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, and it’s one of the most intriguing casting stories behind the film. Cillian Murphy, who played Thomas Shelby on the BBC series spoke about how he offered the role to Barry Keoghan on Father’s Day and the rest is history.
Speaking on the Late Night with Seth Meyers, Murphy talked about how he got a text from Keoghan on the day and he decided to offer the Saltburn actor the role of Duke Shelby, Thomas’ son. Narrating the anecdote, Murphy said,
“He tells this anecdote way better than I do. It was Father’s Day. We’ve known each other since Dunkirk, he was only a kid then. He had texted me on Father’s Day. Nobody had let me know it was Father’s Day. Barry texted me, very kindly and very nicely. And he said, ‘Hey Cil, how are you doing?’ And I said, ‘I’ll just say it to him now.’ So I texted him back and said, ‘Do you want to play my son in Peaky Blinders?’ And there was, sort of, you know when you can see people are typing? And then he said, ‘Yeah.’ He was into it.”
In Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, Cillian Murphy returns as Tommy Shelby, the formidable leader of the Peaky Blinders. Barry Keoghan plays his adult son Duke Shelby, a character previously portrayed by Conrad Khan in the series. The film follows Duke as he becomes entangled in a Nazi plot, forcing the self-exiled Tommy to return to Birmingham to protect both his family and his country.
More details about Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man
We are going back to Birmingham’s most infamous gangster family, and this time, there’s a new Shelby on the block carrying the infamous legacy. Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man reunites several familiar faces from the original show while introducing new characters who reshape the future of the Shelby family. At the center of it all is Cillian Murphy, once again stepping into the role of Thomas “Tommy” Shelby, the calculating leader whose influence has long stretched far beyond the streets of Small Heath.
Joining Thomas is his estranged son, Erasmus Duke Shelby, portrayed by Barry Keoghan. Along with the two Irish stars, we have an ensemble that includes Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Roth, Stephen Graham, and Sophie Rundle.
Edited by Nibir Konwar