Cillian Murphy - “Tommy Shelby is not me – I’m no psychopathic gangster”

After more than a decade as the hardened leader of the Shelby family, Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy insists he’s very different to the role that made him a global icon.

In a recent interview, Murphy reflected on playing Tommy Shelby from the show’s launch in 2013 through its six explosive series calling the experience both a “gift and a privilege.” But make no mistake: the actor sees a clear line between the man and the myth. “I’m nothing like the character... I’m not a ‘psychopathic gangster’,” he joked, underlining just how distant he feels from Tommy’s violence and moral ambiguity.

A role that’s defined a decade

Tommy Shelby has come to define Cillian Murphy’s public image. In the years since Peaky Blinders first aired, Murphy has not only grown older with the role—he’s built much of his career around it. But that long stretch of playing Tommy has also given him something rare: the chance to evolve with a character over time.

Murphy said: “To grow older with a character, you don’t really get to do that... that is the joy of long-form television.” He noted that he’s been able to explore other characters in between, reminding audiences and himself that acting is transformation, not replication.

What’s next - The Peaky Blinders film & “Steve”?

Though the TV series officially ended in 2022, the story of the Shelbys isn’t quite over. Murphy confirmed that a follow-up film, written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, is in the works. Murphy remains tight-lipped about the plot, urging fans to “keep it under wraps.. keep it a surprise.”

Meanwhile, Murphy is promoting his new film Steve, playing a headmaster at a reform school in the 1990s. The movie wrestles with heavy themes: reform, responsibility, and mental health. His performance has been praised for bringing humanity and vulnerability to a role that contrasts sharply with Tommy Shelby’s steel-and-gun persona.

Why Peaky Blinders has such a hold

Murphy attributes the show’s lasting impact to several ingredients:

• Steven Knight’s writing - deeply observed, surprising, emotionally resonant.

• The timing - post-WWI angst, social upheaval, the birth of modern crime and politics. Tommy’s character emerges from trauma and history in a way that “speaks to modern conflicts.”

• Character complexity - power, violence, but also family, guilt, love. Tommy Shelby is not just a gangster; he’s a man who must reckon with demons.

Cillian Murphy may have played Tommy Shelby for more than a quarter of his life but he’s eager to show that his identity is far more than that of a pipe-smoking gangster in a peaked cap. The actor balances fame with privacy, performance with reality, and past roles with future challenges. So, as the Shelby saga moves toward its next chapter in film, Murphy seems keen to preserve mystery, maintain boundaries and remind us all that the man behind Tommy is still very much his own person.