Cillian Murphy says it felt "strange" being on the set of 'Peaky Blinders' without the late Helen McCrory.
Esquire UK / Tom Craig (c)
The acclaimed actress tragically lost her battle with cancer at the age of 52 in April 2021, and her co-star and "dear pal" in the hit period crime drama has opened up in a new cover interview with Esquire UK about how much her absence was felt when she couldn't film the sixth and final instalment in January 2021 because of her diagnosis.
Cillian, who hailed Helen as "so f***ing brave and courageous", admitted it was a "confusing" time grieving for someone "so young" and close to him.
He told the publication: "We were just reeling throughout the whole thing. She was a dear, dear pal and she was the beating heart of that show, so it felt very strange being on set without her. The difficult thing to comprehend is that, if it wasn't for Covid, there would be a whole other version of this show with Helen in it. But she was so private and so f***ing brave and courageous. She was inspirational. People throw that word around, but she genuinely was. Her values, the way she dealt with her kids and Damian [Lewis, the actor, and McCrory's husband of 14 years]... She cares about everybody. She's really funny and really cool, and she had this real warmth. She really cared. It's just... I still can't believe she's not here. It doesn't make sense. I've never lost anyone like that — who was young and a friend. It was very confusing. But she was magnificent. She was an absolutely magnificent person."
Helen played Polly Gray in the BBC series alongside Cillian as protagonist Thomas Shelby.
The 45-year-old Irish actor admitted: "It wasn't a very pleasant shooting experience, for loads of different reasons."
Elsewhere, Cillian insisted he's not sure whether or not his WW1 veteran alter ego has been "redeemed" in the finale.
He said: "I think that's what Steve [Steven Knight, the shows Screenwriter] was aiming for, with loads of wrong turns along the way. But I don't know. I'll leave that to the court of public opinion. I don't know if he's been redeemed."
The 'Dunkirk' star teased that the upcoming series is "dark as f***".
And Cillian also revealed he is "open" to reprising his role for a spin-off movie.
He added: "I'm open to ideas. I think he [Steven Knight] wants to, but I haven't read anything."
The Spring 2022 issue of Esquire UK is on sale on February 3, read the full interview with Cillian here: www.esquire.com/uk.
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