Cillian Murphy's Peaky Blinders role almost went to a Fast and Furious star

Jason Statham, whatever his role, looks like a badass. He has a gruff look and a face that says, "Yeah, I probably look like a guy who would stick jumper cables to my tongue and ignite a car battery." Meanwhile, Cillian Murphy is both an emaciated survivor of the zombie apocalypse in "28 Days Later" and an abandoned transgender woman named Kitten in "Breakfast on Pluto." But the problem with Tommy Shelby is that he's not a wall of brute force: he's a mastermind that manipulates his environment and capitalizes on people's trust. At least, that's how he ended up alongside Murphy in the role. If Statham had gotten the job, the character would have been completely different.

In the Esquire interview, Knight said Murphy's text inspired his change of heart. "[It's] totally right, because he can transform," he said. And that's one of Murphy's greatest strengths as an actor. Yes, these are characters that don't seem physically imposing, but he's also been an absolute threat in movies like 'Red Eye' and even 'Batman Begins'. That's not to say Statham couldn't have made a good Tommy Shelby, but he would have been a completely different Tommy Shelby than the one we got.

Well, not playing Tommy Shelby allowed Statham to join the "Fast and Furious" franchise. Everyone wins!