‘Peaky Blinders’ star explains why Tommy Shelby is never seen eating

Whenever we see Tommy Shelby in any scene or episode of Peaky Blinders, the protagonist is either smoking cigarettes or drinking whiskey, sometimes both. It’s a wonder, then, why we have never seen him eating, even on that one occasion when Aunt Polly made the Brummie gangsters sandwiches to take on the road.

Well, according to what actor Cillian Murphy recently revealed in a chat with BBC Radio 1‘s Ali Plumb, Tommy not eating is actually an advertent running gag in the Peaky Blinders universe. In his own words,

“I remember we’d gotten through the first two series and then we realized, Tommy has never eaten,” he said. “We’ve never seen Tommy eat. Like, he’s sat down at tables, but he’s never consumed a morsel. Then, we made it a kind of running gag. So, throughout the 36 hours of television, Tommy Shelby never consumes anything, except I think once he consumes a sprig of mint when he’s with his son.”

So, there you have it, folks. This confirms the long-standing fan theory that Tommy maintains his nutrition through the scotch and nothing else. Of course, now that he’s given it up in the ongoing final season of Peaky Blinders, will he be breaking his personal — and self-inflicted — Gypsy curse of not taking a bite on-screen at some point in the remaining episodes?

Cillian Murphy is currently busy portraying the main lead in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, but the actor might yet make a return to Peaky Blinders for the upcoming sequel film currently in the works. That is, if he survives this final outing in the first place.