Cillian Murphy says Helen McCrory ‘one of the greatest actors’

Cillian Murphy and Helen McCrory at the premiere of Peaky Blinders: Series 2 at Broad Street Cineworld, Birmingham. File picture: Joe Giddens/PA Wire

Cork actor Cillian Murphy has said he appreciates how Peaky Blinders writer Steven Knight has kept the late actress Helen McCrory’s memory alive in the new spin-off film.

McCrory played Shelby family matriarch Polly Gray in the hit BBC drama for five seasons from when it started in 2013 until her death from cancer in 2021 at the age of 52.

The award-winning show ended following the sixth series in 2022 but will return later this year with its spin-off film The Immortal Man.

She was a dear friend. It was a massive loss

Murphy, who plays ruthless gangster Tommy Shelby, the leader of violent crime gang the Peaky Blinders and Polly’s nephew, said he appreciated how Knight had included nods to McCrory’s character after her death.

“I love the way Steve has kept her memory and her character’s memory alive throughout this – particularly in series six and the film,” he told LADbible.

“She was one of the greatest human beings and one of the greatest actors that I’ve ever encountered.

“She was a dear friend. It was a massive loss, a huge loss for everybody.”

The film will see Shelby driven back from his self-imposed exile amid the chaos of the Second World War, and will explore the relationship between him and the illegitimate son he abandoned, Erasmus “Duke” Shelby, played by Irish actor Barry Keoghan.