Peaky Blinders’ Cillian Murphy teases “dynamism” brought by Barry Keoghan as Tommy Shelby’s heir

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Fans were especially thrilled when Barry Keoghan joined the cast of the new Peaky Blinders movie, The Immortal Man, as one of its standout additions.

When the second trailer for the Peaky Blinders film was released, Barry Keoghan – known for his roles in Saltburn and The Banshees of Inisherin – quickly felt like a natural addition to the cast. He’ll be playing Duke Shelby, Tommy Shelby’s son, a character audiences briefly met towards the end of the TV series, originally portrayed by Conrad Kahn.

The film features a compelling relationship between the two Irish actors, portraying a father and son who don’t always get along. At the film’s premiere in Birmingham this week, Murphy explained to TopMob why Keoghan was always his first pick for the part.

“I’ve known Barry for a long time, and I’ve just watched him go from strength to strength,” he explained.

He’s captivating and spontaneous on camera, bringing a real energy to everything he does, so we were thrilled he joined the project. He was absolutely who we wanted for the role.

In a recent interview with Empire, Barry Keoghan playfully suggested he resembles Cillian Murphy more than Murphy resembles himself, even asking, “Seriously, who has bluer eyes?”

Despite not appearing close on screen, Murphy actually called Keoghan on Father’s Day to ask him to join the movie, and Keoghan immediately agreed.

He immediately agreed, saying he was thrilled to work with the person again and to be involved in that creative project and its world.

The two actors first collaborated on Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk in 2017. Since then, both have achieved significant success, notably with Murphy winning the Best Actor Oscar for Nolan’s 2023 film, Oppenheimer.

Duke appeared in the last season of the show as a surprise – Tommy didn’t even know he existed. Since then, Duke has quickly become a powerful and violent leader of the Peaky Blinders.

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The new Peaky Blinders film, ‘The Immortal Man’, is currently showing in some UK cinemas and will be available to stream on Netflix starting March 20, 2026. Netflix subscriptions start at £5.99 per month and are also accessible through Sky Glass and Virgin Media.

Don’t miss Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man! Add it to your watchlist on the TopMob: What to Watch app. Download the app today for daily TV recommendations and exclusive content.

Authors

Patrick CremonaSenior Film Writer

Patrick Cremona writes about movies for TopMob, covering new releases in theaters and on streaming platforms. He’s been with the site since October 2019, and during that time has interviewed many famous actors and reviewed films of all kinds.

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2026-03-06 17:40