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Cillian Murphy reveals how his Peaky Blinders role takes a toll on his personal life

The actor says playing Tommy Shelby is "exhausting"

Cillian Murphy has revealed how his leading role in Peaky Blinders takes a toll on his personal life.

The Irish actor has admitted that playing Tommy Shelby in the hit BBC drama is “exhausting”.

He told Radio Times: “You have to cancel reality for a little while. Part of acting in film and television is that you have to go from sitting around in a trailer twiddling your thumbs, doing the crossword or whatever, to bang! Being in it.”

“So if you’re coming from a standstill, it doesn’t work.”

Cillian said his wife Yvonne and their sons Malachy, 13, and Aran, 12, have noticed that he’s not fully present while filming the gangster drama.

He said: “I’m not walking around talking like Tommy all the time, but you have to be there or thereabouts.”

“So she’s right, I’m not all there when I’m filming. And in terms of life when we’re filming: I don’t socialise, I just go home, learn the lines, go to bed.”

Peaky Blinders returns on Sunday, August 25, and Monday, August 26, at 9pm on BBC One.

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