Peaky Blinders actor Cillian Murphy reveals who his funniest co-star is on the show. The British crime-drama series, written by Steven Knight (Spencer), follows the Peaky Blinders crime organization in the city of Birmingham, England, in the direct aftermath of the First World War. The fictional gang is roughly based on the real urban youth gang who were operating in the city from the 1890s to the 1910s. Peaky Blinders has garnered universal acclaim since its television debut in 2013 and is set to complete the story with the ongoing season 6 and a future film.
Peaky Blinders sees Irish actor and frequent Christopher Nolan collaborator, Cillian Murphy, play the role of Thomas "Tommy" Shelby, the head of the Shelby crime family, and he is joined by series regulars Paul Anderson, Sophie Rundle, Joe Cole, Finn Cole, Annabelle Wallis (Malignant), and Helen McCrory, who plays the treasurer of the Peaky Blinders and Tommy's aunt, Elizabeth "Polly" Gray. Peaky Blinders also features a whole host of well-known actors throughout its run, including Sam Neill, Tom Hardy, Adrien Brody, Aidan Gillen, Sam Claflin, and Anya Taylor-Joy, to name a few.
Now, while looking back at his time on Peaky Blinders in a recent interview with BBC Radio 1, Murphy was asked about the co-star who made him laugh the most on-set, to which his answer was the late Helen McCrory. Murphy revealed how the actress made him feel comfortable on set by taking "the mickey out of him," which he stated was "important" due to the intensity and the "psychologically demanding" nature of several scenes in the show. Check out his full quote below:
"I would have to say Helen, actually. We were very, very good buddies on that show and she was a very, very funny lady. And, you know, she would make me laugh a lot, I'd have to say. And she would take the mickey out of herself as well as taking the mickey out of me. And, you know, it's important on this show because a lot of these scenes are so bloody intense and so demanding, sort of psychologically, and you're going places that are difficult enough to go to. So you have to have some levity to balance it up, and I always had an amazing laugh with Helen."
While production on Peaky Blinders season 6 was originally scheduled to begin in March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had caused filming to be pushed back by almost a year. A couple of months into filming in April 2021, McCrory had tragically passed away following a lengthy battle with breast cancer. For some time, there was a period of uncertainty as far as the fate of her character in the future of the show was concerned, which has now officially been resolved after the season 6 premiere confirmed Polly's death at the hands of the IRA. However, to say that she'll continue to leave a lasting impact would be a massive understatement given the enormous importance of her character to Tommy in one of the series' core relationships and the story as a whole.
Murphy's comments are a testament to McCrory's professionalism and attitude towards her craft and cast members, which many would argue helped in a big way in getting the best performance out of them. The fact that she was able to drop right out of her tough-as-nails on-screen persona to keep things light on set shows how much she will be missed by her fellow Peaky Blinders co-stars. Before appearing in the British crime series, the English actress had racked up quite a few roles in major film franchises, including the 23rd James Bond film, Skyfall, and the later films in the Harry Potter series, where she played Draco Malfoy's mother, Narcissa. However, her portrayal as the fan-favorite Aunt Polly in Peaky Blinders marks her most celebrated role to date, cementing her legacy as one of the most memorable characters in television history.
Source: BBC Radio 1