Fear Of Sam Neill's Psychopathic Peaky Blinders Character Bled Into Real Life
Over the course of its six-season run, "Peaky Blinders" introduced unforgettably complex characters in a tiny pocket of a world overrun with crime and ambition. Constable Campbell, who served as the series' primary antagonist in the first two seasons, revealed his unsavory ambitions quite early on, especially when it came to his horribly sadistic treatment of women in the show. Sam Neill, best known for his role in the "Jurassic Park" franchise along with several horror entries such as "Event Horizon," played Campbell with a nuanced edge, where the character flitted between carefully constructed righteousness and abhorrent displays of cruelty. While Campbell's character is not meant to evoke sympathy, Neill imbues him with grey areas that enrich our understanding of the Inspector meant to uphold the highest standards of morality, but actively chooses not to.
Neill has played complex characters with dubious moral leanings throughout his career, along with roles that demand an incredible understanding of human extremes. Be it playing a husband on the verge of a psychotic breakdown after learning about his wife's infidelity in a heady, layered film like "Possession," or slipping into the shoes of a risk analyst trapped in a Lovecraftian fever dream in a cosmic horror gem like "In the Mouth of Madness," Neill always understands the assignment. In Campbell's case, Neill allows the character to relish in his own brutality, his sadism shining through even in moments where Campbell doesn't speak at all. Unfortunately, Neill's dynamic portrayal of such an unhinged character was a little too realistic for some, leading to some audiences avoiding the actor during the show's promotion in real life.
Evoking contrasts
During an appearance on The Graham Norton Show in 2016, Neill talked at length about his role in "Peaky Blinders," and the amount of effort that went into delivering a Belfast accent to suit Campbell's origins. While promoting his New Zealand comedy-drama, "Hunt for the Wilderpeople," Neill joked about the people of New Zealand being "nicer" to him after learning that he wasn't playing a "psychopath" like in "Peaky Blinders" in the Taika Waititi-directed film:
"It is a little movie that came from nowhere. It is heart-warming, a sort of a road movie without roads – we don't have many in New Zealand. People are nicer to me in New Zealand as a result of this because the last time they saw me was as a psychopath in Peaky Blinders and they avoided me."
There might be some truth to Neill's playful comment, as Campbell's arc had reached a point of no return after he committed an unforgivable crime by assaulting Polly Shelby. While Campbell's ingrained misogyny and violent means to get his job done already rooted him as a formidable antagonist, this act inevitably led to character comeuppance in the form of his death in Season 2. While Neill had a hard time letting go of the role he had invested so much in, it goes without saying that his performance is one of the finest in the show, even among an incredibly stacked and talented cast who helped create a gritty, realistic world that is uncompromisingly cold and unforgiving.