Paul Anderson, who played Arthur Shelby in all six series of Peaky Blinders, has given his honest opinion on being left out of the new film, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man. The actor told LADbible: "Well, what can you do eh? It is how it is. I thought I'd just leave them to it. I think it's great. I [wasn't] very nice to people in it [the series]. But people loved me."
In the film, Arthur's name appears on a headstone in the graveyard of Tommy Shelby's dilapidated mansion. Initially, it is implied that Arthur died by suicide, but a flashback later reveals that Tommy murdered his brother in a drunken rage, strangling him during a violent struggle in a car.
Creator Steven Knight confirmed there were no plans to bring Anderson back, telling The Hollywood Reporter: "What I'll say is that the story determines the cast, and the story was set. I knew that Tommy needed to have done something that he couldn't forgive himself for. Therefore, that's why the plot went in that particular direction. But in terms of Paul, all I'll say is that he's a fantastic actor."
The film, now streaming on Netflix, follows Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) as he seeks redemption after an extraordinary tragedy. It also stars Barry Keoghan as Tommy's son Duke Shelby, focusing on their strained relationship.
