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'He does wear me down': When Cillian Murphy revealed how playing Thomas Shelby in Peaky Blinders was 'exhausting'
In a 2016 interview, Cillian Murphy revealed that playing Thomas Shelby in Peaky Blinders was extremely exhausting. Read to find out what the actor said.
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Cillian Murphy said in an interview held in 2016 that playing Thomas Shelby is exhausting
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Murphy claimed that mundane practical concerns play a role in this
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Murphy had smoked around 3,000 herbal cigarettes in a day, while he was playing Thomas Shelby
Cillian Murphy has been making headlines for all the right reasons. Murphy, who is famously known for his role in Peaky Blinders, portrayed the character of Thomas Shelby in the hit series. However, in 2016, in an interview, the Peaky Blinders actor revealed that playing Tommy in the series was extremely exhausting. Meanwhile, Cillian Murphy was last seen in Christopher Nolan’s hit film Oppenheimer, where he played the character of J. Robert Oppenheimer. Murphy’s recent film was a big hit at the box office globally and gained a lot of love and praise from the audience worldwide.
ALSO READ: 'The less that people know about me the better': When Cillian Murphy expressed his views on being 'private person'
Cillian Murphy revealed that playing Thomas Shelby was exhausting
Cillian Murphy, the actor in Peaky Blinders, has stated that portraying Tommy Shelby is exhausting and had a negative impact on his life. The 47-year-old actor had spoken out about how he sometimes had to cancel reality in order to portray fictitious Birmingham mobster Tommy Shelby.
Tommy Shelby is tiring to watch in the nicest conceivable manner. In an interview with The Guardian that was held in 2016, the Oppenheimer actor revealed, "He's exhausting to play. I think it's because he's so persistent. He also never appears to sleep. He never says fuck it' and gives up. Tommy is a wonderful character, yet he wears me down. I'm completely exhausted."
Murphy claimed that mundane practical concerns play a role in this as he revealed that Peaky Blinders shootings were often tense and demanding. He said, "Eleven-day fortnights, 16-hour days, and pages upon pages of dialogue. My life revolves around filming. It has been canceled."
Murphy further added, "You go home to your little apartment at the end of the day and eat for subsistence, study the lines for the next day, and attempt to get as much sleep as you can. That's not much. Then you get back up and do it again."
The interviewer further asked him, when phrased that way, portraying Tommy Shelby doesn't sound all that enticing. To which the Oppenheimer actor replied, "It's not! But when they say action,' you're the happiest."
Cillian Murphy had also revealed he smoked a lot of cigarettes while shooting for Peaky Blinders
As seen in Oppenheimer, Murphy’s character smoked a lot of cigarettes, similar to his previous character, Thomas Shelby, in Peaky Blinders. However, it was revealed that they used herbal cigarettes. Even though herbal cigarettes are frequently promoted as being less hazardous than traditional cigarettes because they lack nicotine, they are almost definitely less addictive, but research reveals that they are not without health concerns.
In 2019, Murphy told Birmingham Live about his character Tommy Shelby's proclivity for smoking, admitting that he once asked the prop department how many fake cigarettes the group goes through every season. He said, "I asked the prop guys to count how many we use during a series, and it's 3,000. That is a lot of smoke."
Murphy appeared to be fully aware of the hazards since he has vowed not to portray another smoker in the near future, even if the cigarettes smoked on set are non-nicotine. He told the Guardian this year while he was promoting his last hit, Oppenheimer. He said, "I've smoked so many fake cigarettes for 'Peaky' and this. My next character will not be a smoker. They can't possibly be beneficial for you. Even herbal cigarettes now come with health warnings." He also stated that smoking was the cause of Oppenheimer's death from throat cancer in 1967.
Meanwhile, Cillian Murphy was last seen in Oppenheimer, which was released on July 21, 2023.
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