Cillian Murphy is an extremely talented actor and takes his roles seriously. So when the show’s producers expressed concern about whether Murphy’s thin figure would fit the role of Tommy Shelby on “Peaky Blinders,” he decided to put on some weight by ditching his vegetarian diet.
The future “Oppenheimer” star had been vegetarian for 15 years before giving it all up for the role of a lifetime. He revealed to Mr. Porter that his trainer suggested he start eating meat to bulk up for “Peaky Blinders.” Murphy went on to explain why he went vegetarian in the first place, and it wasn’t for a “moral” reason. As he put it, “It was more that I was worried about getting mad cow disease.” Wanting to be the perfect fit for Tommy Shelby, he decided to eat meat. Recalling his first time breaking his vegetarian diet, he shared, “When the waiter asked if I’d like the fish or the venison, I hesitated and he said, ‘Have the venison.’ He was right. It was extraordinary.”
Murphy may have given up being vegetarian during his run on “Peaky Blinders,” but he found his way back to the diet. After the show wrapped in 2022, he revealed to The Guardian, “I was vegetarian for a long time then I relapsed and now I’ve relapsed back to vegetarianism. My wife is, too.”
