By Peaky Blinders' Cillian Murphy and showrunner Steven Knight have lifted the lid on some of the secrets of the series during a Reddit Ask Me Anything thread, revealing loads of insider factoids about cigarettes, Tom Hardy, future music picks, cigarettes, Brian Eno, and cigarettes.
So, most pressingly: are there any health hazards related to chuffing through a few thousand cigs a series? And what prep does Murphy do before turning into Tommy Shelby?
"I hope there are not any detrimental effects from the cigarettes," Murphy said. "I do need to do some conditioning before playing the part which is mostly lifting heavy things and putting them down again."
More on the cigs: why does Tommy rub each cigarette along his lips before he lights it? "That is a GOOD question," Murphy wrote. "The cigarettes have the filter cut off by the prop department and the paper sticks to my lips unless I moisten them. Then it just became a Tommy tic."
The big scene between Tommy and Tom Hardy's fan favourite character Alfie Solomons in which they talked about "crossing the line" was picked out as one of Murphy's highlights.
"We shot that scene very very quickly due to scheduling and locations and the fact that myself and Tom know and trust each other allowed us to get to that place quickly. it's still one of my favorite scenes [sic]. Tom is incredible in that scene."
Solomons wasn't meant to be a hero, though, Knight said. "He wasn't intended to be someone you could like, he was not written to be likable [sic]. No I didn't think he would have the reaction he's had, but I'm glad he did!"
Knight gave a thunderous "YES" to whether he wanted to work with Hardy again, and added that he's hoping to buy the real Garrison pub, where the gang have their HQ. "I'm attempting to that I'll need the good will from the people of Birmingham [sic]," he said.
Music is a big part of Peaky Blinders, and while suggesting that they'd like Led Zeppelin and Liam Gallagher on future soundtracks, Murphy doesn't think Tommy is much of a muso.
"I actually don't think Tommy listens to music, he probably reads a lot of books." He does have a decent recommendation for an album, if you're looking for something to chill out with: "Brian Eno's music for airports. I hope that works!"
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