Tommy Shelby

Not to be confused with Tommie Shelby.

Thomas "Tommy" Shelby
Peaky Blinders character
First appearance	Series 1, Episode 1 (2013)
Created by	Steven Knight
Portrayed by	Cillian Murphy
In-universe information
Full name	Thomas Michael Shelby
Nickname	Tommy, Tom
Occupation	Member of the Parliament Gangster Businessman Soldier
Affiliation	Peaky Blinders British Union of Fascists
Family	Polly Gray (aunt) Michael Gray (cousin) Arthur Shelby (brother) John Shelby (brother) Finn Shelby (brother) Ada Thorne (sister)
Spouse	Grace Shelby Lizzie Stark
Children	Charles Shelby Ruby Shelby
Nationality	British

Tommy Shelby is a fictional character and the main protagonist in the British period crime drama Peaky Blinders. He is played by Cillian Murphy, who has won an Irish Film & Television Award and National Television Award for his portrayal of Shelby. The character has received positive reviews from critics.

Director Steven Knight cast Murphy for the role of Tommy Shelby. The character is a World War I veteran from a Romani family based in Birmingham. In 1919, we are introduced to Shelby and the story largely revolves around his romance with Grace and his conflict with Inspector Campbell. Five years later, he marries Grace but Grace is killed shortly after at their wedding. Shelby's relationship with Alfie Solomons is a key element of many of the storylines in Peaky Blinders.

Casting and background

Cillian Murphy had expressed an interest in doing more television roles, "Those iconic American shows had been on and we watched them and everyone was kind of conscious of that. I think the BBC were conscious of that and so I was keen to read some good scripts and they [Peaky Blinders] were the first TV scripts I got sent." Murphy admitted that he was not aware of who the Peaky Blinders were when he was initially presented with the script. Jason Statham was initially preferred for the role by director Steven Knight, who explains "I met them both in LA to talk about the role and opted for Jason. [...] Cillian, when you meet him, isn’t Tommy, obviously, but I was stupid enough not to understand that." Knight then opted to cast Murphy instead after receiving a text message from Murphy that read "Remember, I’m an actor".

Although many characters in the series are based on real-life historical figures, the Shelby family are entirely fictional and were created by Knight. Tommy Shelby is from a Romani family based in Birmingham. Murphy spent time with Romani people to prepare himself for the role. Shelby is a veteran of World War I and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of his experiences during the war; something that is a recurring theme throughout the series. Shelby sports an undercut hairstyle and this has led to a resurgence in its popularity.

Storylines

Series 1

In 1919, Tommy leads the Peaky Blinders into appropriating a consignment of guns from the Birmingham Small Arms factory. Inspector Campbell is tasked by Winston Churchill to find the guns and, unbeknownst to Tommy, his new barmaid Grace Burgess is working undercover for Inspector Campbell. Tommy is also involved with fixing horse races, which has potential for conflict with Billy Kimber, who runs the races. Campbell instructs Grace to get close to Tommy so that he can find the location of the guns; Grace attends the Cheltenham races as Tommy's date and Tommy saves Grace from harm after initially offering her to Kimber as part of a deal for the Peaky Blinders to become the security at Kimber's establishment. Tommy obtains a betting licence for his business and hires Grace as his secretary. Grace and Tommy become romantically involved and Grace tells Inspector Campbell, if she gives him the location of the guns, he has to leave Tommy and his family alone. Grace gives up the location to Inspector Campbell and resigns service to the crown. As she has resigned, and the guns found, with the exception of one, Inspector Campbell proposes marriage, which Grace rejects. Tommy gathers the Peaky Blinders and, another family, the Lees and they take on Kimber's men; this leads to a confrontation where Tommy shoots Kimber dead. Tommy meets Grace and she tells him she loves him and will go to London for a few days. The series ends with a gunshot as Campbell confronts Grace at the railway station.

Series 2

Grace is revealed to have shot Campbell but Campbell survives. Tommy and his brothers Arthur and John decide to get familiar with the London scene and cause a scene at Darby Sabini's club. In retaliation, Sabini has his thugs kidnap and attempt to rape Tommy's sister Ada, as well as beat Tommy up. Major Campbell intervenes before Sabini and his men can finish him off. Campbell has agreed with Winston Churchill that Tommy will be useful to them. Tommy discharges himself from hospital early and takes a barge down to London. Tommy meets with gang-leader Alfie Solomons there. Tommy has a hard time convincing Alfie that he should align with the Peaky Blinders against Sabini. Tommy and John meet with Billy Kitchen, of the Black Country Boys, who fought with them in the war. Tommy tells Billy to round up his men for them to go to work in Camden Town for Alfie Solomons. Tommy becomes romantically involved with horse trainer May Carleton. Alfie Solomons and Darby Sabini meet and form an alliance against the Peaky Blinders. Alfie deceives Arthur and has him sent to prison. Tommy finds his fledgling empire crumbling before him, as his power-base in London is obliterated. Tommy further complicates his love life, by escorting the returning Grace to a passionate date, though still stringing May along, who had earlier expressed her feelings for him. Tommy attempts to end his romantic relationship with May, though he still wants her to continue training his horse. Alfie gets Arthur out of prison. Derby Day then arrives. Tommy collects the Peaky Blinders and gives them their mission at the races. Without firing a shot, they are to collect and burn the licences of Darby Sabini's bookies and steal the bets. Tommy runs into Grace who informs him she's pregnant. Tommy tells her after the race, they will talk. Major Campbell's men from Northern Ireland, members of the Ulster Volunteers, kidnap Tommy and take him to an empty field while Aunt Polly meets with Major Campbell and shoots him. Tommy is let go with a message from Winston Churchill promising future contact.

Series 3

Two years later, in 1924, Tommy and Grace get married. Meanwhile, a refugee from Russia, named Anton Kaledin, makes contact with the Peaky Blinders, offering the code "Constantine" as confirmation for the money-exchange meeting with the young Duchess Tatiana Petrovna. Tommy informs her that Kaledin provided the wrong code name, meaning the man must be killed. In the end, Arthur kills the impostor. Tommy inspects armoured vehicles for a business deal with Father Hughes. He meets with Mr. Romanov, who pays him for murdering Kaledin with a sapphire. Tommy later finds a card under his son's pillow, which reads "Charles Shelby - R.I.P.". Grace wears the sapphire, which Tommy gave her, to the Shelby Charity Foundation dinner. Father Hughes informs Tommy that the Russians want to inspect the vehicles. Tatiana tells Tommy that the sapphire Grace is wearing was cursed by a gypsy. Tommy attempts convincing Grace to take off the necklace when a man shouts "For Angel!" and shoots Grace dead. Tommy travels to Wales with the sapphire necklace, where he confers with a gypsy, whom he asks whether it is cursed. He returns home with some sense of normality having left the necklace with the woman. Arthur and John have procured a man called Vicente Changretta,an Italian-American Mafia member who Tommy threatens to torture, but Arthur shoots him in the head as an act of mercy. Tatiana sees Tommy to his car; he tells her that Hughes is betraying them to the Soviets and offers to kill him for free. Easter arrives and Tommy announces a plan to his brothers: they will have been hired to provide the Russians with weapons for a rebellion stolen from a train and will, in turn, be paid in jewels but, believing the Russians will betray him, Tommy plans to break into their vault. Polly goes to church while drunk and during confession she inadvertently reveals Tommy's plan to assassinate Father Hughes to the priest, who tells Father Hughes about it. Knowing he is the target, Hughes foils Tommy's attempt on his life and watches him being seriously injured by his minders. Three months later, Tommy has recovered and the planned massive heist involving the Russians is drawing near. Tommy enlists the Peaky Blinders' old antagonist Alfie Solomons to appraise the Russian's jewels. Tommy's son, Charlie, is kidnapped. Father Hughes reveals to Tommy that he knows about his subterfuge. He demands the jewels as payment and for Tommy himself to blow up the train, which must kill six people, in exchange for the safe return of his son. Tommy agrees unconditionally. After some investigation he discovers that Alfie Solomons divulged the plans to Father Hughes. During a confrontation, Michael kills Alfie's associate, but Michael talks Tommy out of killing Alfie. Tommy figures out where Charlie is being held and sends Michael to retrieve him and kill Father Hughes. At the same time Arthur and John set off to carry out the train bombing in case Michael cannot rescue Charlie in time. Even though Michael is successful, word does not reach the Shelbys in time, and the train is blown up. Tommy returns home to distribute the loot to his accomplices, but at the end of the meeting announces that the police are at the residence to arrest everyone. The rest of the Peaky Blinders and Shelby family are taken away in handcuffs.

Series 4

As Arthur, John, Michael and Polly prepare to hang for their crimes, Tommy's reprieve comes just in time to save their lives. A year later, the Shelby family is scattered and estranged from one another. Each of the Shelbys receives a letter from Luca Changretta, a leader in New York's American Mafia, marking him or her for death in retribution for the murder of Angel and Vincente, Luca's brother and father. Tommy and Ada attempt to convince the others to meet on Boxing Day, believing that they will be safer if they come back together. However, when Tommy discovers and kills a mafia agent among his staff, he realises the assassination attempts are due to take place on Christmas Day and gets word to the rest of the family. Michael goes to collect John and Esme, with whom Tommy could not get in contact. A cart pulls up, and John and Michael are shot several times. Michael survives his injuries but John is killed. In the wake of his death, Tommy and the rest of the Shelby family agree to put their differences aside while they deal with the mafia threat. Tommy suggests contacting Aberama Gold, a contract killer. Changretta visits Tommy and sets several bullets on the table, stating that each is for a member of the Shelby family. He plans to keep Tommy alive until the rest are dead but insists that their vendetta be an honourable one, with Tommy agreeing not to involve the police or the death of children or civilians. The Peaky Blinders are lured by the Changrettas into a chase on the streets of Birmingham, where it becomes clear that the Changrettas are outmatched. Tommy has figured out Polly and Michael have betrayed him but goes to the meeting Polly has set for him and finds himself engaged in a shootout with Changretta's men. After Tommy kills Changretta's men, he confronts Changretta himself, but the police arrive and break up the fight. The family gather to find out what happened, Tommy explains what happened, it appears he had been in on it with Polly, he does not tell the family of Michael's betrayal. Alfie Solomons arranges a boxing match between Aberama Gold's son and Alfie's protégé. It is a trap, however, as Alfie has made a deal to let the Changrettas kill the Peaky Blinders, in exchange for the Changrettas to transport and sell Alfie's London-made bootleg liquor in New York.At the day of the match, Arthur is seriously wounded and appears to have died. At Arthur's funeral, the widow Changretta approaches with a white flag. Later at the family home, she reveals the vendetta will be over if Tommy signs over all his assets to Luca Changretta. Luca and his men meet with the remaining Shelbys in Tommy's basement distillery to sign the documents. Tommy reveals to Luca that he has sent Michael to America to negotiate with Al Capone and turn Luca's men against him. Realizing he has been outmanoeuvred, Luca attacks Tommy, and a fight ensues. As Tommy is getting the upper hand, Arthur enters the distillery and shoots Luca. It is revealed that Tommy had Arthur fake his death to lure Luca into the trap. The Shelbys celebrate the end of the vendetta at Tommy's countryside estate, and it is announced that Tommy will take a holiday from the business. Tommy confronts Alfie for his betrayal, who reveals he did so knowing Tommy would track him down and kill him, and that he has cancer. Tommy then shoots Alfie and proceeds to take his holiday. When he returns, he starts a campaign for Member of Parliament, an election which Tommy wins.

Series 5

In 1929, Tommy goes up to a phone booth on Lickey Hills where on the phone Arthur reads a letter from "Angels of Retribution" which states that they have never even heard of Peaky Blinders and therefore are not scared of their threats. Meanwhile, Michael who runs the Shelby company in the United States gets a message that Wall Street has crashed and leaves for Birmingham with his lover Gina. Tommy gets the news from Arthur about the Stock Market crash and becomes furious after learning that Michael held on even after being instructed not to do so. Later, the Shelbys have a family meeting at the Garrison, where Tommy reveals that Aberama and Isaiah were sent to kill a pimp, who was blackmailing a senior member of House of Lords. At the House of Commons, Tommy meets Oswald Mosley and later threatens Lord Suckerby (a senior member who was being threatened) for not being paid the amount he was promised. Mr. Levitt, a journalist, conducts an interview with Tommy and asks him questions about his past with a view to damaging his image as MP, but Tommy outmaneuvers him with personal and sensitive information he has on him. At the end of the episode, Mr. Levitt is killed by two members of the Peaky Blinders, having been sent by Tommy. At his mansion, Tommy gets a call from Captain Swing, who informs that she captured Michael from cabin of the men who supposedly wants to kill Tommy and asks whether to spare him or kill him and, as per Tommy's request, Michael walks free. At Garrison, Arthur and Tommy warn Finn not to get involved with guns and Tommy tells Arthur that he doesn't sleep because he dreams that someone wants his crown and that it might be Michael. Tommy and Ada meets with Mosley, where Tommy tells Mosley that Ada advised against meeting him as he seems to be moving in direction of fascism. At a ballet event, Mosley announces to everyone his and Tommy's involvement in the new British fascism movement. Tommy visits an asylum to meet Barney, an old comrade from World War I. Barney agrees to join the Peaky Blinders and Tommy plans to have him assassinate Mosley. Tommy visits Alfie Solomons, who survived being shot by Tommy, to organise a riot to cover up the assassination of Mosley. The plan to assassinate Mosley is foiled as both Barney and Aberama are killed in the ensuing events. Tommy leaves for home with Arthur and walks off into a field; a hallucination of Grace tells him "the work's all done" and Tommy screams and points a gun at his own head.

Critical reception

For his portrayal of Tommy Shelby, Murphy won the Irish Film & Television Academy in 2018 for Best Actor in a Lead Role in Drama. In 2020, Murphy was awarded a National Television Award for Best Drama Performance for the same role, beating the likes of Jodie Comer and Idris Elba to the award.

Emily VanDerWerff praised the character, "to call Murphy magnetic might be underselling his presence, and even though the rest of Blinders is quite good, the show can't help but sag a little whenever Murphy's not around." Morgan Jeffery praises the 'movie-star charisma' of the character while Maureen Ryan says "Tommy Shelby may not be a good man, but he's a phenomenally watchable one."