Cillian Murphy appears on film with the uneasy glee of a man about to have dental surgery. He is polite and friendly, but he never quite shakes the feeling that he would rather be practically anyplace else. It’s right before Christmas, and the Omicron variety of Covid-19 has rendered in-person meetings obsolete. Murphy doesn’t appear to be bothered in the least. After the brutal chop required for ”Peaky Blinders”, he sits back in his chair, hair restored to lush cruising length. For the first time, his renowned peepers – organs that have inspired endless column inches and extensive ocean images – are difficult to see, reports The Guardian.
The interviewer recognizes the plain white wall behind him, which is adorned with a Grizzly Bear poster and a painting. This has to be his well-known basement. Murphy’s castle of seclusion is the basement of the Dublin home he shares with his artist wife, Yvonne McGuinness, and their teenage boys Malachy and Aran. He’s spent a lot of time here during the lockdown, tinkering with guitars, reading through pandemic news, and creating amazingly varied radio shows for BBC 6 Music.
‘Peaky Blinders’: Unavoidable Publicity
Unfortunately, there are occasions when little publicity is unavoidable. ”Peaky Blinders”’ final series is due to premiere on BBC One after nine years and 30 episodes. A one-off feature film is in the works, but as far as television is concerned, this is it. The show has become a worldwide phenomenon, with millions of viewers due to Netflix’s decision to pick it up. At racecourses across the country, the ”Peaky Blinders” appearance – haircuts that are shaved at the back and sides and long on top, three-piece suits, – is emulated. And the show revolves around Murphy’s portrayal of Tommy Shelby, the gang’s leader.
Peaky did not appear to be a hit right away. It’s a mythic British Western set during the interwar years that reimagines a real-life Birmingham crime gang. Tommy Shelby, a distinguished First World War warrior, and his siblings Arthur and John run the Blinders in Knight’s vision. Extortion, gambling, and racketeering are some of the ways they make money. As the series’ popularity grew, it began to incorporate real-life events such as the Russian revolution, American prohibition, and the gang warfare that erupted in the United Kingdom following the 1920s. Murphy’s performance is so central to the series that Joe Cole, who portrayed John, claimed he left partially because “it was Cillian’s show, really.“
