Cillian Murphy Knows Exactly Why Peaky Blinders Is So Popular

Even with an Academy Award under his belt and roles like J. Robert Oppenheimer, Scarecrow, and Jim from "28 Days Later," Cillian Murphy's most important role will always be Thomas Shelby, leader of the "Peaky Blinders." Beginning in 2013, the show chronicled the story of the Shelby family's rise through the criminal underworld of Birmingham from the 1880s to the 1920s. With guest appearances from people like Adrien Brody, Tom Hardy, and "Adolescence" star and co-creator Stephen Graham, the show has continued to go from strength to strength with six seasons of "Peaky Blinders" and the planned movie, "The Immortal Man." However, in hindsight, Murphy acknowledges that the show wouldn't be the worldwide hit it's become without the audience that had been there since the beginning and spread the word of just what kind of show others were missing out on.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the leader of Peaky Blinders reflected on the show's evolution and the primary reason it became so popular, crediting the audience with elevating the show into a sensation. "I like that you said it was 100 percent by word of mouth, because that is true. We were a little show on BBC Two, and the BBC does not spend much money on advertising. For me, [I knew it was a big deal] was when we went to the premiere of series 3 in Birmingham, and there were thousands of people there, and they were dressed as Peaky Blinders." From there, the show gained a life of its own with a form of fandom to match some of the world's most popular franchises and the cosplaying audiences to go with it.

There was no question that "Peaky Blinders" was gaining popularity, with the fifth season of Murphy's "little show" moving from BBC Two to BBC One. By that point, the series was gaining a lot of love from the Shelby's home turf of Birmingham. "Obviously, it's about that city, and it's from there so it's special, but at the same time, it was people all over the world having Peaky Blinder parties and Peaky Blinder weddings and there [were] all these pop-up shops and bars," Murphy explained. "Between series 2 and 3 for me was really when it started to become this phenomenon."

In between the season's gaps, Murphy took on a number of other roles but always returned to Shelby, and was happy to do so. "In between I did lots of other things, but I've never had that experience of growing older with a character or being able to inhabit it to a point where the character starts thinking for you in the performance," Murphy revealed. "That happens toward, certainly series 4, 5, and 6, it was definitely the character was in control of the vehicle, if you know what I mean. That's amazing, I've never had that experience before." 

Exactly how long Murphy continues to stick with the character is unknown, given that Netflix has plans of the "Peaky Blinders" lasting beyond "The Immortal Man." We'll have to see what that future looks like when the film arrives later this year.