Cillian Murphy (Tommy Shelby): “boring to play one-dimensional characters”

Possible spoilers!

In anticipation of the second season of the British gangster drama Peaky Blinders actor Cillian Murphy talked about what we expect from the new series, about his hero Tommy Shelby, as well as reuniting with Tom Hardy, with whom he played in the Christopher Nolan’s film “Inception” and “The Dark Knight Rises.”

The already impressive cast of your show in the new season added Tom Hardy.What was it like working with him again on the same set?

He’s a great person and a good friend. I was always very comfortable with him and work in a rush. When your partner – this akterische, you must be equal to it, keep the bar. I am a big fan of Hardy -aktera. He’s incredibly cool.

Where would be the Tommy Shelby in the second season?

I think it will expand the horizons, and he will go to the south, where, of course, meet resistance. In addition, the intrigues within the family are not going anywhere, and its task is to keep his thugs in his hands.

Producers of the project as something given a hint that the new series will take more from gangster films (such as “Scarface”) and less of the westerns. This will have an impact on the image of your character?

If you work in this genre, you have a strict set of expressions that can be learned from the great gangster movies and great television shows on the subject. So that their impact is inevitable, and that’s good. Need to gratefully accept the legacy of the masters.

At the same time, a distinctive feature of the show is that it is very British – not American. Mythologizing them Americans gangsters fine, but we have, I think, to the “island canopies,” it was impossible to do it just as well. So do not resist the influence of the classics, but you must also have their own vision of the theme. In my opinion, this style, as in our series, could be obtained only in Britain.

The new season will increase the number of victims?

I do not keep count of those killed, and just trying to survive. Must somehow intrigue the viewer, but we have a pretty intelligent show, moreover, built on a large number of dialogues. That is, it is as if the side of his gang “brothers.” Accordingly, intrigue and we must lie in this plane – in the plane of intelligence. So, maybe there will be more victims, I do not know. I’m sure someone without me count them.

What do you think about how the project is represented by a touchy subject for PTSD?

In 1919, this phenomenon has not yet have a name. The people called him “shellshok.” Also in those days was not developed psychological counseling, so just returning war veterans back into society and practiced self. They did their best to cope with this condition. “Shellshok” entailed serious social upheavals, because a form of self-medication was violence. All those who suffered PTSD rapidly and reflexively react to violence. So, Tommy Shelby last year “treated” drinking and opium, and his brother Arthur just followed the path of cruelty.

From the point of view of moral resonance, this problem has become global. Today some PTSD officially recognized, and he is being treated. But the problem has not gone away: soldiers encounter it again and again. For their return to society is always going to be difficult.

You prepare for the role of some special way to portray this disorder?

I read a lot about the First World War, the memories of soldiers before and after it. I liked how the writers portrayed Tommy. It’s an honest approach: it a lot of flaws, he was very hurt, but trying to survive. One may not agree with many things that he does, but we have to admit that in the end my character is compassionate and noble. I think the audience does not have to put a cross on it, because it is – a perfectly normal person, just a little bit depressed, crippled. That’s what I really like about the script.

There is a certain responsibility in the image of the subject that causes such strong emotions, is not it?

Certainly. The series, of course, is not about that, but do not forget to portray the hero so that he evoked sympathy.

What’s the most difficult thing for an actor playing the anti-hero like Tommy Shelby?

Generally, in the acting profession, the most interesting for me is the human condition. Pattern that is in the strict confines of the characters with square jaws do not interest me. Someone once said, “If you’re going to play a miser, play it generously.” I like the duality of his nature. He has to do things that are none of us would not dare. He makes decisions calmly and confidently. But while Tommy Shelby is morality, love and weakness. Such characters attracted me the most. Dimensional character types as boring. Them and play boring, and look at them.

Do you think Tommy Shelby  still has room to grow as a character, if the show renewed for a third season?

Of course. Stephen Knight [screenwriter] outlined his way up to the outbreak of the Second World War. With such undivided characters (assuming that they will survive) can travel long. In addition, Knight is currently one of the most interesting writers who are, moreover, in the zenith of his inspiration. All he does is – amazing. I was fortunate to work with this person.