Irish actor Barry Keoghan has revealed he drew upon his own complex relationship with his father to portray his character in the upcoming film, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man.
The Dublin-born star, 33, has often spoken candidly about his challenging childhood, which saw him and his brother placed in separate foster homes after their mother battled and ultimately succumbed to drug addiction.
Keoghan takes on the role of Erasmus “Duke” Shelby, the illegitimate son abandoned by the notorious Tommy Shelby, in the new Netflix spin-off from the acclaimed TV series that concluded in 2022. Speaking at a press conference, Keoghan explained that the “absent” dynamic between Duke and his on-screen father resonated deeply with his personal experiences.
“It’s a real thing, stepping into play Tommy Shelby’s son. Being a big fan of the show and big fan of Cillian, I wanted to be part of it and get my teeth into it,” he stated.
He continued: “It was the relationship, for me, and it was the absence I leaned into, and the experience I have in some similar ways to my absence of my dad, and the echoes I’ve heard of him and the kind of figure I’ve made him to be. I felt that was… a humanity. It sort of humanises Duke for me to show those vulnerabilities. Obviously, the kid’s going to be an absolute livewire and violent and they’re all reactions, they’re all cries for help – not to justify each and every one.”
The film sees Tommy (Cillian Murphy) return from self-imposed exile amidst the turmoil of the Second World War, only to discover Duke at the helm of the violent Peaky Blinders crime gang.
Keoghan elaborated on his approach: “At the end of the day, there’s an animalistic thing of the cub looking for its dad. That’s what I brought it back to when (Tommy) is finally there. This behaviour he does when he’s not there, emulating him and trying to be like him from what he’s heard, and trying to put it on to when he is with him. I wanted to lean into that, make that a conscious thing.”
The Bafta-winning actor, a new addition to the Peaky Blinders universe, described joining the “iconic” franchise as “mad.” He added: “It is nerve wracking, it is exciting and… there’s sort of anticipation to it. But yeah, it was such an experience.”
The original TV drama, which followed the Birmingham-based Shelby crime family, first aired on the BBC in 2013 and ran for six series over nearly a decade.
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Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man is scheduled for release on Netflix from March 20.
