Cillian Murphy has said it ‘feels sad’ that he can’t be like Tommy Shelby when fans meet him, saying many are ‘a little bit underwhelmed’.
Murphy, 46, starred in Peaky Blinders between 2013 and 2022, playing the main protagonist alongside the likes of fellow Shelby family actors Helen McCrory, Paul Anderson, Sophie Rundle and Joe Cole.
While the star has had a number of high-profile roles over the years, from 28 Days Later and Inception to The Dark Knight trilogy, it was his turn as the Brummie crime boss that won him a whole new generation of fans.
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But it turns out his character couldn’t be further from who he is – much to the disappointment of some of his viewers, according to Murphy.
In a new interview with Rolling Stone UK, he spoke about the pressures of fame, which he compared to commuting in terms of how it relates to his job as an actor.
"You have to commute to get to your destination,” he explained, adding: “I think that’s the way the best people are: they’re not doing it for any other reason but love of the craft. They have a compulsion to make work, not to be famous or get attention.”
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Murphy continued: “I don’t really partake. I don’t go out. I’m just at home mostly, or with my friends, unless I have a film to promote.
“I don’t like being photographed by people. I find that offensive. If I was a woman, and it was a man photographing me…”
When asked how he felt about becoming something of a sex symbol, he dismissed the idea with a firm ‘no comment’, before going on to say he feels people are often ‘underwhelmed’.
“I think it’s the Tommy Shelby thing,” Murphy said.
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“People expect this mysterious, swaggering… it’s just a character. I do feel people are a little bit underwhelmed. That’s fine, it means I’m doing my job.
“Peaky fans are amazing. But sometimes I feel a little sad that I can’t provide — like — that charisma and swagger. He couldn’t be further from me.”
As for that long-awaited Peaky Blinders film creator Steven Knight has promised us? Murphy added: “If there’s more story there, I’d love to do it.
“But it has to be right. Steve Knight wrote 36 hours of television, and we left on such a high.
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"I’m really proud of that last series. So, it would have to feel legitimate and justified to do more.”
Featured Image Credit: Stills Press/Alamy Stock Photo/BBCTopics: Celebrity, TV and Film, Cillian Murphy, Peaky Blinders