- 2 days ago
Barry Keoghan takes us inside the making of Netflix's 'Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man,' along with a roundtable of hosts from Audacy.
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00:02Johnny from 1127, so great to meet you. Congratulations on such a beautiful film and
00:07you really did the fans justice with ending this film. Happy Father's Day. That's how it all started.
00:15Oh yeah. You texted Killian Happy Father's Day and this is how that started for you, correct?
00:23Yeah I did and you know you'll probably get every young actor now texting all their peers
00:28Happy Father's Day. Killian is probably just gonna get a lot of texts from now on and but
00:35yeah I did and because I keep in touch with Killian and you know I always have and
00:40always check in and vice versa and same with all the Irish lads but um yeah text him
00:46and he he said do I want to play his uh his um his son. And the irony too there
00:53you're
00:53saying Happy Father's Day and all of a sudden he's playing your father on the big screen in this epic
00:56epic moment for you. And what's it like coming into this world? Were you a fan of the show before
01:01this?
01:02Yeah I was a fan. I tried to get in the show many times. What? With Shaheen, yeah.
01:07Uh Shaheen Baig, she cast it and she actually cast me in my first movie in the UK and
01:13and so she's been always in touch with me and I think it just came about the right moment, isn't
01:18it?
01:19Really, you did such a great job. We saw it last night. Epic, the explosions, the amount of explosions. Did
01:24you get explosion burn from all the fire in your face?
01:28Yeah, um and we had to stop production because I got burnt. Oh yeah. No injuries.
01:38No, there was none just for the record and what was so you know practical and it's very rare that
01:46I know
01:47every production always aims to set that you know sort of way for their actors and directors and everyone involved.
01:56You know the practical sort of the sets and everything and you know sometimes productions they just can't do it
02:03and because of you know certain things but with this we were blessed in the sense that the sets were
02:09amazing
02:09and like everything from the newspapers to the you know you'd look around like 360 it's like everything was
02:16you were in that kind of you know environment. Every detail was accounted for. Right.
02:22So last night in the Q&A you were talking about how you were you are such a big fan
02:27of the show
02:27that kind of stepping in and getting ready to do it you had a lot of nerves going into it.
02:33At what point would you say that you just kind of were able to like let go and lock in?
02:41You know we're going into you know a movie with that following is it's it's nerve-racking but nerves is
02:49good
02:50and I saw I wanted to lean into the fact that Duke is bold and deliberately sort of be like
02:57all right
02:57thanks that's I'll take it from here and and have that attitude and that sort of arrogance
03:03and and with all respect to everyone before me and and that's beside me you know
03:08but kind of leaning into that you know there's a new there's a new kid about you know your song
03:17but yeah.
03:19Yeah what was one of your maybe favorite moments of filming the whole thing whether it was on the set
03:26or you know offset whatever.
03:28I think standing opposite Killian in the bar like just he's so committed.
03:37He's so the switch is insane. He walks his Tommy and like he walks towards you and you're like oh
03:44shit.
03:45What is going on here? I'm killing him back someone. Cut? Did you say cut? No?
03:51I'm still in it. Okay.
03:52Um but like he's so fierce and amazing amazing actor that requires and demands you to be of a certain
04:01way.
04:02Um you know and you're constantly learning whether you're going through that that flow you're like I'm getting better and
04:09I'm understanding my craft more.
04:12Um and just yeah fucking standing with Killian Murphy you know what I mean.
04:16Talking of being committed the first scene you shot with him is the pig poo one.
04:20That's all.
04:21Now.
04:22What a shit way to do.
04:23Exactly right.
04:24You two being experienced access did you look at one another and go did we really have to do two
04:28days of literally rolling around in picture?
04:31Well yeah you know that again you can't really complain because like Killian shows up on set and you sort
04:39of you just get on with it.
04:40And I wanted to impress him as well so I started digging the ground you know amp myself up to
04:45go against my father and have an argument with my father.
04:49Um and I started punching the ground and I done my knuckles in you see the scars here.
04:55Come on.
04:55Yeah yeah yeah.
04:56Um you know and I remember saying to him I've been like thinking I didn't impress him.
05:02So you look at my knuckles are all bloody I can't really move my hands.
05:05And he said ah man you know you can punch a mat.
05:08I was like.
05:09I was like.
05:10I was like.
05:11I know.
05:12You're trying to methodize.
05:13Yeah.
05:13You could punch a mat but punch the ground you feel it.
05:16Um.
05:18But.
05:18It was real like you know it was just real it was immersive it was metaphorical for what
05:23we were going through me and my dad and the physical aspect of the love the touching the
05:29how shit the relationship is and um it was cinematic you know both our eyes were popping blue you know
05:36I mean it was like wow that mother really brought out those baby blues.
05:42But uh.
05:43Yeah.
05:44Um.
05:44It was a way to get into it.
05:45And talking of metaphorical is it true that some of the inspiration came from the Lion King
05:50for you in terms of the relationship because that's a stretch right.
05:55Um.
05:56Yeah.
05:57No it did.
05:58I mean I I tend to look at you know I've always said this in interviews and that animals being
06:03you know the behavioural elements and and how you know their movements and uh restricted to not well not talking
06:11at all except for pirates but um you know how they can convey such uh behaviour and emotion through through
06:18physicality and the Lion King yeah and Sinbad and his dad you know looking up to his dad and watching
06:24how he does it and the final moments you know like laying on his dad and touching his dad and
06:31I thought it was.
06:32There was sort of a parallel there and a simplicity to what we all go back to with our parents
06:39and ones that we love and which is the cradle and on the chest and the you know.
06:46It was such a touching moment that I mean I don't want to give away too many spoilers but uh
06:50the woman next to me was full on weeping like tears coming down tissue snot the whole bit.
06:55It was a beautiful moment.
06:56You said that you you came in and you had a couple changes for Duke or or you said that
07:00you wanted to maybe do them in your own way right.
07:03Yeah.
07:04Like I wanted to add the gemstones even where the gemstones yeah you know they're not from the show but
07:08like I had my own little touches into my my uh you know stuff I wear and I wanted to
07:13be bold and again deliberate and be like you know all right we wear it that way well maybe I'll
07:17throw a stone on you or maybe I'll put my necklace on my wrist you know and and stuff like
07:22that.
07:23Uh and just original you know um and not for you know if for for having a purpose as well
07:31and a reason to do it with a great costume designer Alison and she was amazing and she was always
07:37on for and up for ideas so yeah um yeah I mean even this like as you can see thing
07:44around my neck it's supposed to go down here but anyways it's choking me out.
07:49Yeah you know what I mean you always have these very you play these in-depth characters all the time
07:56yeah it's like no cookie cutter for you um I got to be at your salt burn premiere oh wow
08:02and I got to go out to dinner with Emerald Pennell and admittedly I had too much wine and we
08:06went in depth about the dirt scene yeah if you will what's with you and dirt you can't get away
08:11from the dirt and done.
08:12Oh yeah you're covered in dirt you're covered in dirt your face is in the mud and the shit that
08:17was real shit real mud yeah wait which one now?
08:20The one exactly you can't see that.
08:22You're getting typecast you're always going to be in shit in the movies now.
08:25We're casting a movie called Grave or something next.
08:29No yeah I mean for Duke you know the peaky element spoke to me but it was a father and
08:35son relationship for me and you know I speak quite open about it um you know about the absence of
08:42my own father and and what that's done to me and how I was raised by you know three women
08:47um since I'm 11 and my granny being more of a father figure to me than than any man could
08:53be um and so that masculinity of
08:57what Duke is trying to convey and in the absence of his father and I think in the absence of
09:04him he's trying to emulate him and you know put this image on like image of him on and walk
09:10like him and but I think similar to me you know that's to create a presence or a sort of
09:18a mold this figure of his father to make him feel real and here and with him
09:23um and by doing those things and I and hearing those echoes from people what he was like and you
09:30know sort of like living through that and and so for me it was just to to sort of that's
09:36what spoke to me was that dynamic and the vulnerabilities he shows and you know I felt I could lean
09:43into that more than than anything else.
09:46You're making me feel right now.
09:48You're making me feel right now man.
09:48Yeah, I know.
09:49You really are.
09:49That's really beautiful.
09:50Is that what you sort of hope people will walk out of the movie with?
09:55Yeah, I just hope um again you know amongst the whole backdrop of Peaky and the explosions and the the
10:02world is that it does a universal theme there and you know not to relate Tommy and compare him to
10:09my my own dad or anyone but you know I'm a father
10:13and you know we're human you know I mean and and it's not articulated and you know we gotta learn
10:21and we gotta we gotta grow and again my little boy I hope to I always want to be there
10:27for him but I hope that he looks up to me in a way and and that and but again
10:32it's a it's yeah it was the relationship for me and and that sort of thing on page of Tommy
10:40Shelby's son and kind of making him a bit
10:43you know the humanity of it shown his vulnerabilities and the facade he puts on and you know clearly trying
10:50to act like him and you can see he's like I wanted to make that a conscious thing of him
10:56behave and trying to behave like a man.
10:58We as an audience can see that and it's comical in a way but it's also sad to know that
11:03he's trying to behave like his father.
11:06And we as an audience can see that because you conveyed it so well and I think as as I
11:11watched you on the screen you could see that you still have a respect for him yeah the whole time
11:15where do you go before you shoot these scenes physically mentally are you just like you said Killian has a
11:22switch yeah you have a switch or do you need to be alone for an hour before you shoot these
11:27scenes do you go someplace mentally or physically before you shoot?
11:30And I think you know again even meditating you know I don't meditate but the practice of meditating for me
11:35is hard to go to a place to get present and or try force that presence and I think you
11:42find it and stuff like for me it's boxing and you know I find that moments where my oh and
11:48then it's gone.
11:48And I think you know and I think you know what I do for a living and I love my
11:54craft it allows me go to them places and you subconsciously like you tap into these moments and emotions and
12:02and all within a safe space.
12:04You know I don't need everyone to be quiet you know I don't need to rely on anyone I just
12:12my way of doing it is as music you know it triggers me and gets me to a state and
12:18and just I recall and a lot of stuff as well and I again tell the I just want to
12:24tell the truth or as close to the truth that I can do as that character and it come from
12:31a real place because I think when you see that
12:33it's um people relate to that and see it and you know it's beautiful.
12:39And in terms of making it authentic how do you get into the Birmingham accent? Is there a process for
12:43that? Are there certain words that you lean into to make that authentic?
12:47Yeah you know what I didn't lean into the Birmingham accent too much either because you know Duke was also
12:53you know gone and knocking about and you know and so I didn't want to lean into it too too
13:00much and sort of have
13:03just touches of it and it was a perfect time because I came in three weeks out three four weeks
13:08out and and it was enough for me to get into it but I wanted more to sort of um
13:14just touch on it like sort of briefly into like obviously he's he's in Birmingham and whatever but you know
13:22he's been knocking about other places and you know he doesn't have that father figure he doesn't have those anchors
13:29where where we get our influences off.
13:31You know and you know our parents or uncles and you know we take mannerisms and accents and stuff from
13:40them so yeah.
13:41In terms of the look of the movie as well keeping it authentic you know you talk about the relationships
13:46in it and how they're universal to everyone at different times in their life.
13:50Is it important to you for you to be involved in movies where not a lot of it is fake
13:56you know you film this in Birmingham because it's set in Birmingham and there's not a lot of trickery that's
14:01done afterwards to the visuals of it it's all made to look very real and authentic.
14:05Yeah that that that helps massively that's an actor's dream I mean that's everyone's dream is to be immersed in
14:11that world and the practical like oh this everything's real and you don't always get that and you know everyone
14:18tries to get that and have that for us but it does help.
14:22I mean it massively helps and then it allows you you know to sort of step in and recall and
14:28use get to a current state and and see if you can find or unlock a new truth in yourself
14:35and yeah.
14:37And then you get to put on that incredible costume I swear the peaky like the swag is next level
14:45you know so what did it feel like getting into that costume for the first day of shooting and did
14:53you keep anything after you guys were out.
14:56Do you know what and no I didn't get to keep on and they were very you know they were
15:02on it because it's iconic and again yeah you know who I was playing was sort of kept secret even
15:07though I named my dog Duke.
15:10A month after we wrapped I got a German Shepherd and named him Duke and no one no one copped
15:15on to it and but now you know.
15:17You could have just like a basketball theme or something.
15:21But no the first time putting it on was amazing you know and I didn't feel like I earned it
15:27you know but that was good you know I don't feel Duke earned it and I don't think he's chasing
15:33the whole even when he says peaky blind I said to Tom on the day I was like why doesn't
15:38someone else say it for me you know and that's why we have Jay saying it you know why doesn't
15:44someone repeat it for me.
15:45Because I don't feel I need to or I want to say it you know because I'm not it's I'm
15:52I'm sort of bringing something else to it I'll say it because you want to hear it but I'm not
15:57that's not what I'm about you know and I feel as well it's having someone else say it sort of
16:03you know it makes me more powerful and I can just say it here and not have to roar it.
16:09It reinforces it.
16:10Yeah yeah.
16:11Your chemistry with Tim was so great.
16:14And he was you guys are making us crack up last night.
16:18Just to record on stage you could tell that you you really hit it off.
16:20Yeah yeah.
16:21And he told us the story from his perspective about an hour ago.
16:25Could you tell the hog story from your perspective as you thought Tim was going to a place of acting
16:30genius.
16:31I was like Tim Roth wow going for it like you know and like in the scene I'm looking at
16:35him and he's like you know and he's like staring but now I know he was just looking at fucking
16:41Peppa Pig walking past my shoulder peeing.
16:45Pooing on the move as he put it.
16:46You know I'll never look at that scene the same way I know.
16:49We keep coming back to it but that scene.
16:51Oh he's incredible.
16:52It's a beautiful scene in the pig pan.
16:55And there was a humanity there like touching on that again that he brought you know when he mentions his
17:01own son and it's just that little crack you're like ah what was that?
17:05You know and I just found that so it's da da da da da oh oh and so wait what
17:13was that and that for me is sort of like for Duke it's sort of like I seen something there.
17:19That was weakness.
17:21I'ma get into that.
17:23And then later if we can cut this if it's a spoiler but then later when you don't go through
17:27with what you had said you would initially I believe that the line he says is you didn't make me
17:32proud.
17:32Yeah.
17:33I know.
17:34I know.
17:36Yeah.
17:36This is a movie about like daddy issues really.
17:39Yeah.
17:39Two daddies.
17:41Yeah.
17:41Kind of.
17:42Yeah.
17:43It really is.
17:44It's sort of a but that's what I'm saying like you know it's always been that it's always been the
17:48family driven and I think for me to someone said to me they were like you know you weren't how
17:55I seemed you'd be or how I thought you'd be and you know there was a you weren't as scary
18:01as I thought.
18:03And I found that very interesting that they said that because I wasn't looking to be scary you know and
18:09I wasn't looking to play scary.
18:11And I think you know I was looking to show more that that that to humanize him to you know
18:19to show that this boy who just wants his dad and all of these actions that he's done is a
18:24cry for help.
18:24Yeah.
18:25And you know even the punching on it it's still love it's still touching it's still you know I mean
18:31men men back then didn't talk and and you know didn't articulate and I think for them it was like
18:37you know that sort of thing was like.
18:41And yeah.
18:42You had some great lines in there I mean when you said all I know is is violence or I
18:46forget I'm paraphrasing but in the fight scene.
18:48Um it really you conveyed it so beautifully and I don't for me watching it it wasn't scary or not
18:54scary I think your unpredictableness is what was scary.
18:57Yes.
18:57Like you just took that gun and shot it through the window.
18:59Yeah.
19:00So that is why you were scared.
19:02It's a it's a it's a fuck the world sort of mentality and I had that as well from from
19:09me and this as an artist as an actor.
19:11This is where you get to use and channel this stuff is because you can bring that forward and for
19:18me when my mom died and even when my dad died it was sort of like I was sort of
19:24like fuck the world you know and but I caught myself acting that way and I caught myself I was
19:30aware of myself behaving like that like why why should I give a fuck about anything you know but you
19:36sort of have to kind of not get on with it but look at you know the world keeps moving
19:41the world keeps
19:41going on the bus keeps driving past nothing is stopping for you or for anything else and I think Duke
19:47has that mentality and all of those actions he's taken is is because he feels done in boy and I
19:56could definitely definitely relate to that.
19:59Yeah.
19:59And I'm so sorry for your losses but what you've channeled through this and what you can show people the
20:04good that has come from and your career and the beautiful work that you've made.
20:07We are so grateful for you man.
20:09Appreciate that really.
20:10Thank you so much for your time today.
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