Why Annabelle Wallis Wanted To Be A Part Of Peaky Blinders
Before Annabelle Wallis' Grace Burgess fell in love with Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) and married him, she worked as a barmaid and undercover agent for the Birmingham Police. Initially tasked with getting close to the Shelby family patriarch, Grace falls in love with him, thus kickstarting their tumultuous journey. Her complex character arc saw her betray the gangster and marry another man before finally becoming Tommy's wife in season 3. Grace's death was tragic and transformed "Peaky Blinders," forever altering the course of Tommy's life and hurrying his downfall. Grace played a pivotal role in Tommy's life — she helped him stay grounded — and losing her devastated him beyond measure.
As one of the first female operatives for the Crown, Grace was charming, intelligent, and observant: she wanted to prove herself. She was strong-willed and determined, and Annabelle Wallis took her role as a personal challenge. The actress has revealed how "Peaky Blinders" allowed her the opportunity to experiment as an actress — and how she was drawn to how "feisty and strong" every character was.
'I just fell in love with it straight away'
In an interview with the BBC, Wallis shared why she wanted to be a part of "Peaky Blinders," crediting its story about a crime family as the reason. Steven Knight's solid script immediately made her fall in love with the show, and there was no turning back. Plus: this was a show about gangsters ... and well, everyone loves a good gangster drama.
Here's what Wallis had to say during the interview:
"The whole idea of it being about this crime family and the romantic ideas of crime like in gangster films and Westerns and all that kind of came to play after reading the script and – it intrigued me. Everyone's so feisty and strong and so different and so complex. I just fell in love with it straight away."
Peaky Blinders depicts Birmingham's subcultures
Wallis also believes that "Peaky Blinders" stands out from other television shows. It shines a light on the subcultures that emerged within Birmingham at the time, in a way that had never been done before.
"At the core you have an incredible script and I think that already makes it kind of stand on its own. Obviously there's great writing out there but for me, that was something about this that really stood out, in its style, its pace, its dealing with strong women. British period drama is always seen as kind of perfect and beautiful and lovely but I don't think subcultures have been shone a light on like Peaky Blinders has done."
When Cillian Murphy was asked what made "Peaky Blinders" as successful as it became, the Irish actor revealed that the show dynamically mythologized the British working class, which viewers enjoyed. It's necessary to tell lesser-known stories, and because "Peaky Blinders" does that in an impeccable manner, the show has received much love and critical acclaim.