LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - JUNE 11: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 24 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) Tom Hardy attends the Sentebale Audi Concert at Hampton Court Palace on June 11, 2019 in London, England. The charity Sentebale was founded by Their Royal Highnesses The Duke of Sussex and Prince Seeiso Bereng Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006. (Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
Movies - TV
Tom Hardy's Exit From Peaky Blinders Was An 11th-Hour Decision
By STEVEN WARD
Tom Hardy’s scene-stealing Alfie Solomon on “Peaky Blinders” made him a fan favorite, so when he was seemingly killed off at the end of Season 4 there was a general lament over the loss. Luckily, Alfie didn't stay dead for long, and kudos to the show's writers for finding a way to write him effortlessly back into the story.
However, there was plenty of behind-the-scenes squabbling over how to bring him back and whether he should have been killed off in the first place. There was so much back-and-forth in the writers' room before the 11th-hour decision to kill off Alfie, that few knew what was actually going on.
Much like one of Tommy's many plots, Alfie's death came together at the last minute. Not only was it absent from the script for the Season 4 finale, but even while they were shooting the scenes leading up to his showdown with Cillian Murphy's character, a decision had yet to be made.
Bringing Alfie back seemed out of character for a show that prides itself in sending characters to dramatic and untimely deaths. According to series creator Steven Knight, the only reason Alfie came back is because Hardy wanted him to, "The plan changed, let me put it that way — because Tom does love this character."