Peaky Blinders fans were left baffled over Arthur Shelby’s glaring absence.
Paul Anderson has opened up the Peaky Blinders movie
Peaky Blinders’ Arthur Shelby actor has finally opened up about his absence from The Immortal Man.
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man is on Netflix and the follow-up film explores Tommy Shelby’s (played by Cillian Murphy) redemption arc as he attempts to right his wrongs.
The Peaky Blinders film, which sees Barry Keoghan star as Tommy’s son Duke Shelby, focuses on the father and son relationship as Duke begins to head down a dangerous path.
Tommy, reluctant to return to his family, is forced to face the demons of his past following an unprecedented tragedy and viewers discover some hidden secrets about Tommy’s life in the events between the series and the film.
The film begins with Tommy living away from his family in a derelict mansion, which features a graveyard he regularly visits.
Viewers were shocked to see Arthur Shelby’s name written on one of the gravestones, and here is all you need to know about actor Paul Anderson’s absence.
Why is Paul Anderson not in The Immortal Man?
Arthur Shelby was last seen in season six of the flagship series, while he was battling an opium addiction following a relapse.
Paul Anderson played Arthur in all six seasons of the show, and is one of only three stars to have appeared in every episode, besides Cillian Murphy and Sophie Rundle.
Anderson opened up on the film and his absence to LADbible, explaining: “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.”
Creator Steven Knight said there were no plans to bring Anderson back, telling The Hollywood Reporter his character had been written out of the film.
He explained: “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.”
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What happened to Arthur Shelby in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man?
In the sequel film, Tommy was seen living in isolation as he was haunted by the ghosts of his past, including his brother, Arthur.
He often visited his brother’s grave, though it was not mentioned for a long time how his brother really died.
At first it was suggested he had died by suicide, but by the end of the film Tommy revealed what really happened as a flashback played out on screen.
He explained how he had killed his own brother in a drunken fit of rage, while they were both in a car together.
Tommy was seen strangling Arthur during a struggle, which ended with Arthur laying lifeless and Tommy almost instantly regretting his actions.
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man is on Netflix