Editors Note: This Article Contains Spoilers For Peaky Blinders Season 4 Peaky Blinders season 4 Episode 1, “The Noose,” caught viewers by surprise with John Shelby’s shocking death. No one expected one of the main members of our favorite British gang to die at the hands of Italian mobsters right in front of his house. The character’s death, and actor’s subsequent exit, led to questions about why it had to happen; with the option of the character being written out seeming like a milder alternative. Fans of the show were still not over Grace’s death (Tommy’s wife) from the previous...
- 3/16/2023
- by Safwan Azeem
- TVovermind.com
In "Peaky Blinders," Cillian Murphy effortlessly leads the crime drama series as Tommy, the Shelby family patriarch and Peaky Blinders boss, while Helen McCrory's character Aunt Polly is the family's pragmatist; she believes in being realistic and is often Tommy's voice of reason. As for the other Shelby brothers, they've dedicated themselves to fulfilling Tommy's dreams for the family and rising to the top. Every character in "Peaky Blinders" is complex, layered and almost always wavering between the good and the bad. They're anti-heroes in their own right. Casting actors for a show where there's no good and bad guy, so to say, is no easy task, and you'd be surprised to learn which character was the toughest to cast.
'Grace Was The Hardest, Actually'
London-based BAFTA-nominated Shaheen Baig is the casting director behind four seasons of "Peaky Blinders." In a conversation with Interview Magazine, Baig explained how straightforward...
'Grace Was The Hardest, Actually'
London-based BAFTA-nominated Shaheen Baig is the casting director behind four seasons of "Peaky Blinders." In a conversation with Interview Magazine, Baig explained how straightforward...
- 12/15/2022
- by Fatemeh Mirjalili
- Slash Film
Warning: contains spoilers for Peaky Blinders season 6 episode 4 ‘Sapphire’
Esme’s a dark horse. In ‘Sapphire’, John Shelby’s widow revealed a secret she’s been keeping from Tommy Shelby. In the time since Esme escaped the Peaky Blinders and set out to raise her children “among decent people” on the road, she met a woman named Zelda. In May 1914, Zelda had become pregnant after sleeping with a man under a hazel tree at the Appleby Horse Fair. By the time Zelda’s dad found out and issued the usual death threats, the man in question – a 24-year-old Tommy Shelby – had enlisted in the army and left for France, ignorant of the pregnancy. Zelda had the baby, and by the time Tommy returned from war, he was unwittingly the father of a four-year-old son with hazel eyes.
A daughter lost, a son found
16 years later, Tommy’s son Duke – a name that evokes Western movies,...
Esme’s a dark horse. In ‘Sapphire’, John Shelby’s widow revealed a secret she’s been keeping from Tommy Shelby. In the time since Esme escaped the Peaky Blinders and set out to raise her children “among decent people” on the road, she met a woman named Zelda. In May 1914, Zelda had become pregnant after sleeping with a man under a hazel tree at the Appleby Horse Fair. By the time Zelda’s dad found out and issued the usual death threats, the man in question – a 24-year-old Tommy Shelby – had enlisted in the army and left for France, ignorant of the pregnancy. Zelda had the baby, and by the time Tommy returned from war, he was unwittingly the father of a four-year-old son with hazel eyes.
A daughter lost, a son found
16 years later, Tommy’s son Duke – a name that evokes Western movies,...
- 3/20/2022
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
Warning: contains spoilers for Peaky Blinders season six episode four ‘Sapphire’.
“It’s a fascinating period in history that they’re moving into,” Sophie Rundle tells Den of Geek about Peaky Blinders season six. “Ada is astute enough and smart enough to see that it’s not a good thing, the world her kids are growing up in.” That’s putting it mildly. In ‘Sapphire’, a brick is thrown through the window of Ada’s Mayfair house. It’s a racist attack targeting Ada’s mixed heritage daughter Elizabeth, the child of Black British Intelligence Officer Colonel Ben Younger, who died in a car bomb attack last season. The brick-throwers hang a Swastika flag outside Ada’s house in an attempt to intimidate her. Ada may be a Thorne by marriage, but she’s a Shelby by nature, and as such, is not easily intimidated.
She goes outside to confront the men with a gun,...
“It’s a fascinating period in history that they’re moving into,” Sophie Rundle tells Den of Geek about Peaky Blinders season six. “Ada is astute enough and smart enough to see that it’s not a good thing, the world her kids are growing up in.” That’s putting it mildly. In ‘Sapphire’, a brick is thrown through the window of Ada’s Mayfair house. It’s a racist attack targeting Ada’s mixed heritage daughter Elizabeth, the child of Black British Intelligence Officer Colonel Ben Younger, who died in a car bomb attack last season. The brick-throwers hang a Swastika flag outside Ada’s house in an attempt to intimidate her. Ada may be a Thorne by marriage, but she’s a Shelby by nature, and as such, is not easily intimidated.
She goes outside to confront the men with a gun,...
- 3/20/2022
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
Warning: contains spoilers for Peaky Blinders season six, episode two ‘Black Shirt’
In the world of Peaky Blinders, it’s been ten years since we last saw Esme Shelby Lee, the gypsy widow of John Shelby. Played by Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Esme left Birmingham in a fury after John was shot dead by the New York mafia in the gang’s war with the Changrettas. In season six, she’s coming back.
“Put me through to the number I gave you for Esme Shelby-Lee”
It was a war that first brought Esme into the Shelby family. The Peaky Blinders’ season one feud with the Lee family of Romany gypsies culminated in an eleven-year-old Finn almost getting blown up by a stick of dynamite meant for Tommy, who decided enough was enough. Tommy wanted peace with the Lees, and needed their soldiers in his Billy Kimber racetrack strategy, so he went to...
In the world of Peaky Blinders, it’s been ten years since we last saw Esme Shelby Lee, the gypsy widow of John Shelby. Played by Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Esme left Birmingham in a fury after John was shot dead by the New York mafia in the gang’s war with the Changrettas. In season six, she’s coming back.
“Put me through to the number I gave you for Esme Shelby-Lee”
It was a war that first brought Esme into the Shelby family. The Peaky Blinders’ season one feud with the Lee family of Romany gypsies culminated in an eleven-year-old Finn almost getting blown up by a stick of dynamite meant for Tommy, who decided enough was enough. Tommy wanted peace with the Lees, and needed their soldiers in his Billy Kimber racetrack strategy, so he went to...
- 3/6/2022
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
Sophie Rundle’s favourite line from any role in her career so far came in Peaky Blinders’ first season. Playing Ada, the younger sister of 1920s gangster-bookmakers Tommy, Arthur and John Shelby, she had a scene sitting in the Penny Crush cinema, watching a Rudolph Valentino film. Cillian Murphy as Tommy entered, cleared the place, and demanded to know the name of the man who’d made her pregnant. After he left, Ada sat alone in the theatre and yelled at the projectionist “Oy! I’m a Shelby too, you know. Put my fucking film back on!”
It’s Ada’s iconic line, says Rundle – outrageous and funny and the first in a series of excellent threats she issues in Peaky Blinders. Another comes in season four when she terrifies a pub landlord who initially mistakes her for just another unaccompanied woman, and who fails to provide ice for her whiskey.
It’s Ada’s iconic line, says Rundle – outrageous and funny and the first in a series of excellent threats she issues in Peaky Blinders. Another comes in season four when she terrifies a pub landlord who initially mistakes her for just another unaccompanied woman, and who fails to provide ice for her whiskey.
- 2/23/2022
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
When Joe Cole first decided he wanted to become an actor, he probably had no idea that he would eventually become a huge international star. That’s exactly what he’s become, though – and he’s grateful for every minute of it. He started his on screen career just over 10 years ago and he has managed to earn a lot of major roles during that time. He got his first major break when he was cast as John Shelby in Peaky Blinders. After your years on the show, he got another huge opportunity when he Charlie in Pure. These days, however,
10 Things You Didn’t Know about Joe Cole...
10 Things You Didn’t Know about Joe Cole...
- 2/13/2021
- by Camille Moore
- TVovermind.com
Explosive thriller Gangs of London landed on Sky and Cinemax in one intense nine episode package this April. It boasts a large international ensemble cast to match its sprawling narrative style. The cast is a mix of well known faces and relative newcomers all mixed up in the fray.
But who plays who, and where might you have seen them before? We break down the main and supporting cast including their key roles to date and exciting upcoming projects.
The Wallaces Colm Meaney as Finn Wallace
Finn Wallace is the patriarch of the family and the head of a massive crime syndicate who is assassinated in episode one of Gangs of London but appears in flashback throughout the series. Irish actor Colm Meaney might be best recognised by some for his recurring role in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as Chief Miles O’Brien.
But who plays who, and where might you have seen them before? We break down the main and supporting cast including their key roles to date and exciting upcoming projects.
The Wallaces Colm Meaney as Finn Wallace
Finn Wallace is the patriarch of the family and the head of a massive crime syndicate who is assassinated in episode one of Gangs of London but appears in flashback throughout the series. Irish actor Colm Meaney might be best recognised by some for his recurring role in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as Chief Miles O’Brien.
- 5/5/2020
- by Rosie Fletcher
- Den of Geek
From Skins to Peaky Blinders, actor Joe Cole has made his name playing rogues. But nothing prepared him for the full-on physicality of his latest film
You might know Joe Cole as a Brummie, from Peaky Blinders, where he played John Shelby, the much-loved gangster kid brother to Cillian Murphy’s Tommy. Or maybe as a Manc, from the Hang the DJ episode of Black Mirror, in which true love was shown to triumph in an age of algorithm-sanctioned pairings. Or, if you catch him in his latest film, A Prayer Before Dawn, where he’s a Liverpudlian boxer turned Thai prisoner turned Muay Thai fighter, using mostly non- verbal gestures to ask to fight or to plead for drugs.
“I’ve not done my own accent in years,” says Cole, 29, his own voice deep, slightly gruff, with a south London twang. Last night, he was watching the World Cup...
You might know Joe Cole as a Brummie, from Peaky Blinders, where he played John Shelby, the much-loved gangster kid brother to Cillian Murphy’s Tommy. Or maybe as a Manc, from the Hang the DJ episode of Black Mirror, in which true love was shown to triumph in an age of algorithm-sanctioned pairings. Or, if you catch him in his latest film, A Prayer Before Dawn, where he’s a Liverpudlian boxer turned Thai prisoner turned Muay Thai fighter, using mostly non- verbal gestures to ask to fight or to plead for drugs.
“I’ve not done my own accent in years,” says Cole, 29, his own voice deep, slightly gruff, with a south London twang. Last night, he was watching the World Cup...
- 7/1/2018
- by Rebecca Nicholson
- The Guardian - Film News
Louisa Mellor Nov 15, 2017
Peaky Blinders has a triumphant return, with as much swagger, glamour and excitement as ever. Spoilers ahead in our review…
This review contains spoilers.
See related 26 new TV shows to watch in 2017
The sensational twist at the end of Peaky Blinders’ last series left writer Steven Knight with a problem: having blasted them apart, how could he reunite the Shelby family? After six months inside and a noose around each of their necks—all part of the boss’ plan to shake them loose of the Economic League’s grip—would Arthur, John, Polly and Michael ever forgive Tommy?
They don’t need to forgive him to get back together, is Knight’s simple and smart answer. An unprecedented threat is what’s required to make the Shelby-Grays reunite. Enter: the New York mafia. In retaliation for the murder of Vicente Changretta last series, son Luca (Adrian Brody...
Peaky Blinders has a triumphant return, with as much swagger, glamour and excitement as ever. Spoilers ahead in our review…
This review contains spoilers.
See related 26 new TV shows to watch in 2017
The sensational twist at the end of Peaky Blinders’ last series left writer Steven Knight with a problem: having blasted them apart, how could he reunite the Shelby family? After six months inside and a noose around each of their necks—all part of the boss’ plan to shake them loose of the Economic League’s grip—would Arthur, John, Polly and Michael ever forgive Tommy?
They don’t need to forgive him to get back together, is Knight’s simple and smart answer. An unprecedented threat is what’s required to make the Shelby-Grays reunite. Enter: the New York mafia. In retaliation for the murder of Vicente Changretta last series, son Luca (Adrian Brody...
- 11/15/2017
- Den of Geek
Louisa Mellor Nov 29, 2017
What happened in Peaky Blinders series 3? What went on with the Russians, the Economic League and the Changrettas? We explain...
Warning: contains spoilers (obviously) for Peaky Blinders series 3.
See related Vikings: complex, compelling, unmissable drama
Peaky Blinders series three opened with a lavish wedding. After the hushed-up suicide of Grace’s husband, she returned from New York with her and Tommy’s baby son (conceived during series two’s extra-marital fling) to make an honest man of Thomas Shelby - literally so. On their wedding day, Grace made Tommy promise to put an end to the criminal business and keep his new family safe. “No guns in the house,” he vowed.
Cut to Arthur, that same episode, in that same house, shooting dead a Soviet spy in the wine cellar, then burning the body in the extensive grounds of Tommy’s stately home. (This was the same Arthur,...
What happened in Peaky Blinders series 3? What went on with the Russians, the Economic League and the Changrettas? We explain...
Warning: contains spoilers (obviously) for Peaky Blinders series 3.
See related Vikings: complex, compelling, unmissable drama
Peaky Blinders series three opened with a lavish wedding. After the hushed-up suicide of Grace’s husband, she returned from New York with her and Tommy’s baby son (conceived during series two’s extra-marital fling) to make an honest man of Thomas Shelby - literally so. On their wedding day, Grace made Tommy promise to put an end to the criminal business and keep his new family safe. “No guns in the house,” he vowed.
Cut to Arthur, that same episode, in that same house, shooting dead a Soviet spy in the wine cellar, then burning the body in the extensive grounds of Tommy’s stately home. (This was the same Arthur,...
- 11/7/2017
- Den of Geek
Who are the stars of tomorrow in TV, film and theatre?
Digital Spy presents its predictions for 2015 - in no particular order, here are seven young actors, writers, comedians and musicians who look destined to make an impression on the world of entertainment this year.
1. Billy Howle
After graduating from the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in 2013, Billy Howle quickly landed television work in Channel 4's New Worlds and on ITV's Vera.
But the young actor first came to our attention last year with his powerful performance as the troubled James in sorely underrated countryside thriller Glue.
Next up for the talented Howle is a plum role in BBC One's adaptation of Laurie Lee's Cider with Rosie, which is due to be broadcast later in 2015.
2. Hannah Britland
A graduate from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Hannah Britland launched her television acting career with early roles in Misfits and Skins.
Digital Spy presents its predictions for 2015 - in no particular order, here are seven young actors, writers, comedians and musicians who look destined to make an impression on the world of entertainment this year.
1. Billy Howle
After graduating from the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in 2013, Billy Howle quickly landed television work in Channel 4's New Worlds and on ITV's Vera.
But the young actor first came to our attention last year with his powerful performance as the troubled James in sorely underrated countryside thriller Glue.
Next up for the talented Howle is a plum role in BBC One's adaptation of Laurie Lee's Cider with Rosie, which is due to be broadcast later in 2015.
2. Hannah Britland
A graduate from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Hannah Britland launched her television acting career with early roles in Misfits and Skins.
- 1/9/2015
- Digital Spy
If you’re not watching BBC 2’s gangster western Peaky Blinders, stop reading now and seek it out on iPlayer – there’s still one episode left so you have time to join the party. Peaky Blinders is the slow burning tale of a volatile, family led criminal gang, headed by calculating brother Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy), and their rise to power in post-World War I Birmingham. It does not sound glamorous and it isn’t, yet is all the more compelling for embracing the filthy side of what many considered to be the cusp of the ‘Roaring Twenties’. Not in Birmingham it wasn’t.
Thankfully Peaky Blinders had costume designer Stephanie Collie (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, The Look of Love) on board to recreate this era in, her own words, “a heightened way”. Peaky Blinders is not intended for school history lessons, it’s a ‘Hollywoodised’ vision of 1919 with a TV budget.
Thankfully Peaky Blinders had costume designer Stephanie Collie (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, The Look of Love) on board to recreate this era in, her own words, “a heightened way”. Peaky Blinders is not intended for school history lessons, it’s a ‘Hollywoodised’ vision of 1919 with a TV budget.
- 10/15/2013
- by Christopher Laverty
- Clothes on Film
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