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Jason Statham Almost Starred in ‘Peaky Blinders’ Instead of Cillian Murphy

By order of the Peaky Blinders!

'When renowned screenwriter Steven Knight set about formulating what would become one of his best creations, the modern gangster classic television series Peaky Blinders, he had a very important choice to make. He already had his main character fully fleshed out: Thomas Shelby, an ambitious, emotionally shut off war veteran who conducts himself like he's already dead and living on borrowed time. Knight was deliberating between two very different actors when deciding who best had the skills to embody Shelby. One of these men was an icon of the Irish acting scene, able to be in almost any kind of film you can imagine. The other was an icon of the rough and tumble action film scene, equally capable of fighting off sharks and jump-kicking down doors. It was the matchup nobody could have foreseen, Cillian Murphy vs. Jason Statham.

A Text to Steven Knight Gave Cillian Murphy the Upper Hand Over Jason Statham

Knight has told the story that he was torn between going with either of these two masters of the brood and the grumbling voice. According to The Independent, he said that he "met them both in LA to talk about the role and opted for Jason...because physically in the room Jason is Jason." You have to imagine that what he means by this is that Statham is a very impressive physical specimen in person, and that his tough guy persona is not entirely an act. Knight followed up by mentioning how Murphy "isn't Tommy, obviously, but I was stupid enough not to understand that." In his defense, Murphy is an incredibly soft-spoken and gentle soul, leagues away from the calculating killer Knight was looking for.

Seemingly sensing a disturbance in the Force, Murphy decided to pull a true giga-Chad move to ensure he'd get the role. Knight said that one day he received a text from Murphy, and what did that text say? "Remember, I'm an actor." At that moment, Knight realized that Murphy "can transform himself. If you meet him in the street, he is a totally different human being." Knight was finally able to see past Murphy's introverted exterior and realize he had what it took to live up to the Peaky Blinders standard.

Jason Statham Is Best as a Likable Action Star

This is no shade whatsoever to Statham — who has his own certain set of skills he brings to the table — but he could not bring to Thomas Shelby what Murphy did. While it's true that Thomas is a ruthless man who's killed before and has it in him to kill again, he is above all else a politician at heart. He is strategic in his methods, completely closed off in his emotionality even to his own most beloved family members, and ruthless in who or what he will use as collateral in order to get what he wants. If ever there was a modern anti-hero of deeply questionable morality to rival the likes of Tony Soprano or Walter White, it's Thomas Shelby.

While Jason has played his fair share of guys who aren't afraid to kill people or do continuously insane things just to stay alive, he is almost always portrayed in a totally positive manner. He is the modern day equivalent of a Charles Bronson or a Steve McQueen, the likable gruff hero who is always up against meaner, more overtly evil enemies. Don't get it twisted — he's great in these roles, as his combination of street knowledge and his comfort with quips make him the rare action star that feels equally at home in both types of flicks. He can be both the hardened badass in Parker or Wrath of Man, but also be a more humorous and slapstick version of his persona in films like Spy or The Expendables.

There are two downsides to the image he's maintained. For one, there's a noted pressure for action stars to continue to do roles that keep their core fanbase happy. People like Jason Statham because they want to see him do Jason Statham-type roles, and taking a chance on a more outside-the-box character like Thomas could be seen as a risk for his career. Second, there's always an underpinning of likability to his characters — almost to a fault. No matter what he does, we always feel like the movie is approving of his actions, with rare exceptions. Even his most prominent villain role, Deckard Shaw in the Fast and Furious saga, had to become a full-fledged good guy at some point because audiences loved seeing him on-screen and interacting with the main cast so much. Audiences feel compelled to be on his side, regardless of the consequences.

Cillian Murphy Can Better Embrace the Small Scale

As Murphy himself professed, he is "an actor," which is an understatement if ever there was one. Cillian Murphy has steadily built a reputation for himself as one of the consummate actors of our time, slipping from super villain, to Irish freedom fighter, to space captain with an impeccable ease. Plus, despite Knight's hesitations over picturing Murphy as such a tough threat like Thomas, Murphy has actually had a great history of playing men of imposing force. Think of his terrorist Jackson Rippner holding Rachel McAdams hostage and surviving getting stabbed in the throat with a pen in Red Eye, or the steadily increasing violence and chaotic behavior of one of his earliest roles in Disco Pigs, or even the coke snorting, gun toting, walking red flag that is Tom in The Party. These may not be muscular bruiser types that can knock heads together with ease like Statham can in his sleep, but they are men who are all full of murderous drive, and know how to keep themselves composed and proper in various social circles, while also projecting a sense of constant calculation and the ability to hide true emotions from everyone in the room except the audience.

To make a long story short, Murphy can carry a scene in a smaller scale register than Statham can. If we see Murphy sit like a stone for an entire scene watching everyone else, we read this as him gathering knowledge, playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers. If Statham does the same, we expect him to find the right time to interrogate someone or get what he wants through sheer fisticuffs, or perhaps even find a way to witty banter his way out of the situation. While Statham can be a quite stern actor himself, his is more a barreling full force kind of focus, like a determined dog chasing a car. The ambiguous and slippery nature of Murphy's temperament is much more fitting for the kind of expert power player that Thomas Shelby winds up being.

Thomas Shelby’s Casting Came Down to a Matter of Fit Above All Else

None of this is to cast any aspersions on Statham's abilities as an actor, but instead to highlight that he simply wasn't as good of a fit as Murphy. Statham bringing a lot of charisma and physical threat to a starring role is great for a slice of pulpy fun like Safe, but not as fitting for a multi season character study of a broken man manipulating the world around him to do what he thinks is right, even if that means potentially turning against his own trusted allies. That kind of moral confusion and ping ponging of conflicting motivations and actions is much more suited to an actor like Murphy, as there's simultaneously no audience pressure on him to fulfill the role of a standard likable hero and more freedom for him and the writers to explore the darker potential of the character in a way that feels honest to the material. It's important to keep in mind that ultimately, it's not a matter of getting the biggest actor for the role, but the right actor. Cillian Murphy was the right man for the job, by order of the Peaky f***ing Blinders.'

Tachipen Masterlist

Tommy Shelby x female reader

Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 ongoing

Summary : With the flip of a coin, Tommy makes a deal to bring a gypsy girl into the Shelby clan. Considering her too young to marry, he employs her as a nanny. When tragedy strikes, he’s forced to confront the truth he has always known. 

Whispers of a Ghost

Summary: You were Billy Hargrove’s twin sister.

After recently being released from jail for a crime you didn’t commit, your family moves to Hawkins wanting a fresh start.

However, you never imagined that your fresh start would involve monsters and alternate dimensions. But, the most surprising thing of all was finding yourself falling for popular, rich boy, Steve Harrington.

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 3.4k

Warnings: child abuse, mentions of SA (not in detail), language

A/N- This series will follow the story line of Stranger Things right up until the end of Season 4 (once it gets released) but will include the reader in it as Billy’s twin sister and Steve Harrington's love interest.

If anyone wants to be tagged in this fic, please let me know 💜

Stepping out the front door of the prison, you took in a deep breath of fresh air and sighed with relief.

365 days behind those walls and finally you were free.

“Look who it is!” A familiar voice called out.

You looked up to find Billy standing beside his blue ‘79 Camaro and you couldn’t stop the smile spreading across your face.

“Hey, bro.” You greeted, walking over to him as he flicked his cigarette away and pulled you into a tight hug.

“God, I missed your stupid face.”

You chuckled softly, “I missed you too.”

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The Beginning Is the End Is the Beginning

Series Masterlist: Seasons 1-7

❧ Media: The Walking Dead ❧ Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Female Reader ❧ Era: Seasons 1-7 ❧ Reader Pronouns: she/her ❧ Status: COMPLETE

❧ Synopsis: You find yourself in the middle of the end of the world, a world that you’re pretty sure you’re not meant for. Still, you try to keep your spirits up and survive by any means possible. It isn’t until a certain crossbow-wielding redneck comes into your life that you find what’s worth surviving for.

❧ Series Disclaimer: The reader insert in this series is essentially an OC, as she has her own detailed backstory and is even related to a character in the show. Nevertheless, I like the second person format and the concept of not describing her physical appearance, so that's what I did. Despite being related to a character in the show, I am not trying to imply that she has to be any race or look any certain way. Please feel free to use your imagination and see the reader insert as whoever you want to be.

❧ Spotify Playlist

❤️‍🔥 = smut (18+)

❧ Chapter 1: In the Dark ❧ Chapter 2: Destroying Angel ❧ Chapter 3: The World Now ❧ Chapter 4: Sticks and Stones ❧ Chapter 5: How To Kill a Man ❧ Chapter 6: Time To Waste ❧ Chapter 7: Remember ❧ Chapter 8: Extinction Event ❧ Season 1 Moodboard

❧ Chapter 9: Homestead ❧ Chapter 10: Written In the Scars ❧ Chapter 11: Ghosts ❧ Chapter 12: A Little Piece of Heaven ❤️‍🔥 ❧ Chapter 13: Don't Ever Be Afraid ❧ Chapter 14: Paradise Lost ❧ Season 2 Moodboard

❧ Chapter 15: Soybeans ❧ Chapter 16: Behind Bars ❧ Chapter 17: Close Quarters ❤️‍🔥 ❧ Chapter 18: A Mother's Blood ❧ Chapter 19: Thicker Than Water ❧ Chapter 20: To Know Him Is To Love Him ❧ Chapter 21: Sleeping With the Enemy ❤️‍🔥 ❧ Chapter 22: Fairytale ❧ Season 3 Moodboard

❧ Chapter 23: Knife's Edge ❧ Chapter 24: The Killing Moon ❧ Chapter 25: From Bad To Worse ❧ Chapter 26: Death Row ❧ Chapter 27: You'll Never Walk Alone ❤️‍🔥 ❧ Chapter 28: City of Woe ❧ Season 4 Moodboard

❧ Chapter 29: Try, Try, Try ❧ Chapter 30: The Study of Grief ❧ Chapter 31: Before I Sleep ❧ Chapter 32: Some Sunny Day ❧ Chapter 33: Interview ❧ Chapter 34: Suburban Home ❧ Chapter 35: Everything You Wanted ❤️‍🔥 ❧ Chapter 36: Pick and Choose ❧ Chapter 37: The Last Frontier ❧ Season 5 Moodboard

❧ Chapter 38: Death On Our Doorstep ❧ Chapter 39: Dark Is Bright as Fire ❧ Chapter 40: This World and the Next ❤️‍🔥 ❧ Chapter 41: A Hill To Die On ❧ Chapter 42: Means To an End ❧ Chapter 43: For Whom the Whistle Blows ❧ Season 6 Moodboard

❧ Chapter 44: Every Ugly Thing ❧ Chapter 45: What God Has Done ❧ Chapter 46: Abnormal Psychology ❧ Chapter 47: When Life Gives You Lemons ❧ Chapter 48: Retrouvailles ❧ Chapter 49: Sex, Age, and Death ❤️‍🔥 ❧ Chapter 50: Thy Kingdom Come ❧ Season 7 Moodboard

Seasons 8-11 Masterlist Oneshots Masterlist Main Masterlist

Hopeless

Daryl Dixon x Reader

Summary:   After losing everyone when the walkers attacked the quarry, reader can’t see the point on keep going, but then Daryl Dixon becomes her shadow, frustrating her attempts at being alone and end it all. She doesnt know why he’s doing it, neither seemed to know it himself, and neither does reader know if she’ll ever stop feeling like this, if that sense of hopelessness and lonelyness will ever leave her…WARNING for suicidal reader.  (4600 words one-shot inspired by the prompt “I saved your life”)

Requested by @crossbowking though I’m pretty sure this wasn’t what you had in mind, sorru.

You can find more Daryl x Reader stories in the masterlist linked in the description of this blog.

………………………………………………………………………………………..

Everyone was packing their things to leave for Fort Benning the next day but you didn’t see the point. Walkers had attacked the camp, killing half your group…including your whole family, your parents and your brother. You were brokenhearted, you didn’t think you could ever stop feeling this pain. You were alone in the cruel world. You didn’t know why walkers hadn’t gotten to you too. What was the point in keeping going anymore?

Some of the other had begun to drive picks into the heads of walkers and fallen friends, and you felt tears falling down your eyes again as you felt sick to your stomach. Sure that nobody would notice, you went to the woods. You made sure to make noise as you walked, until you saw a walker making his way to you. You flopped down onto the ground and let it come. You shouldn’t be alive. You’d be devoured as your family and the pain would stop.

The monster was almost on you, reaching out its hands, it could almost touch you, and you closed your eyes, terrified, so as not to see it, and waited for the pain not come. Instead, you heard a whistling sound and then the walker fell on top of you. You yelped, pushing the body off you, and you looked around wildly, spotting Daryl lowering his crossbow.

“What the hell are you doing?!” He yelled at you, walking closer.

“No, what the hell did you do!”You snapped back, rushing onto your feet. Daryl’d ruined it all. You didn’t know if you’d have the courage to try again.

“I saved your life!” Daryl shook his head in disbelief at you, scoffing.

“Well, I didn’t ask you to!” You yelled back, embarrassed when you noticed tears in your eyes again. You turned to walk deeper into the woods, but Daryl rushed behind you.

“Where the hell you think you are going?!” Daryl reached out as if to grab your arm but you pulled away.

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