Movies - TV
Why We Never See Thomas Shelby Eating Anything On Peaky Blinders
By STEVEN WARD
Thomas Shelby’s ominous aura and near-mythic image on “Peaky Blinders” is something that Cillian Murphy was as responsible for creating as the series creator Steven Knight. If you’ve ever noticed that Shelby never eats on the show, that’s because it was an accidental choice that later turned into an intentional decision.
Once fans noticed this quirk, Murphy and Knight decided to turn it into a “Tommy thing,” which added to the character’s obsessive industriousness. Instead, all we ever see Tommy consume are cigarettes and alcohol (he drinks a total of 213 times before the last season), which tells us exactly what we need to know about his personality.
Just like his lack of eating, Tommy’s smoking and his unique way of prepping his stogie became somewhat of an idiosyncrasy that Murphy adopted while playing the character for six seasons. Tommy usually smokes in moments of deep thought or sadness, making it an expected and noticeable feature for fans.