Plenty of righteous fuss has made on which Peaky Blinders stars will return for Steven Knight’s untitled Netflix movie. Naturally, the project couldn’t happen without Cillian Murphy staring into the face of WWII as Tommy Shelby OBE, and other confirmed comebacks include Steven Graham (as Hayden Stagg), Sophie Rundle (as Ava Thorne), Packy Lee (as Johnny Dogs), Ned Dennehy (as Charlie Strong), and Ian Peck (as Curly).
Tom Hardy remains an unknown as Alfie Solomons, although an appearance feels obligatory, and Hardy’s real-life spouse, Charlotte Riley, could be back as May Carleton. Sadly, the signs point toward Paul Anderson’s Arthur Shelby not being part of the movie, but there will be several new faces joining the story.
Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Roth, and Barry Keoghan will all surface in unspecified roles, but Barry (reuniting above ^^^ with Dunkirk co-star Cillian) is the most intriguing addition. The film’s IMDb page doesn’t offer the name of his character, but whispers swirl about how he would be a natural fit as a Shelby, specifically one of Tommy’s sons. As viewers know, Tommy decided during the sixth season that his legacy would be neatly divvied up by his male progeny. Tommy envisioned Charlie (his son with Grace) taking over the legit side of Shelby Company Limited with his relatively newfound son, Erasmus (“Duke”), taking over the more unsavory, illegal aspects of the business.
In the TV series, Duke was portrayed by Conrad Khan, but Tommy’s son who grew up with his traveling gypsy mother would have aged up several years for this movie. Could he now look like Barry Keoghan? Perhaps. Earlier this month, Netflix revealed a peek at Barry in character:
Sure looks like he fits right in, but hey, let’s zoom in on that hand tattoo:
By order of the Peaky Fookin’ Blinders, that’s the wagon wheel found on the flag of the Romani people, which makes Duke seem like a slam dunk, since he grew up practicing the nomadic lifestyle of the traveling Romanichal. In fact, this tattoo seems awfully telling unless it’s a diversion tactic for Barry to be portraying a Lee family member who has never before been seen onscreen.
Has anyone chatted with Barry to officially confirm his role? Surely, he’s bound to secrecy, which is why he kind-of rambled when discussing this “method” gig with Entertainment Weekly:
“Just being on set, that rusty feeling again,” he said. “Just shaking off all the cobwebs. I’ve been doing a lot of promotion and I’ve been chilling, and I think people get scared when they find themselves having free time. I think sometimes it’s the best thing to grow as an actor and as a person, and so I’ve had that time and I’m looking forward now to getting in and doing the creative, method-y thing.”
Although he acknowledged that going method for Peaky Blinders could be difficult in this day and age. “They had no phones back then, so I’m going to be off my phone,” he joked. “Going to have to write letters.”
How should an actor go method as a Shelby? Cursing like it’s an art form, preparing to throw down a cap if necessary, and perhaps bathing in Irish whiskey. (Thank goodness that Sabrina Carpenter has a great sense of humor.)