The ‘Magnificent’ Helen
LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 03: Paul Anderson, Helen McCrory and Cillian Murphy attend the Premiere of BBC Two’s drama “Peaky Blinders” episode one, series three at BFI Southbank on May 3, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Anthony Harvey/Getty Images)
by Miranda Collinge | Esquire UK | February 1, 2022
Helenistic’s note: The following is a part of a longer interview Cillian Murphy gave to Esquire UK.
In March 2020, Murphy was preparing to fly to Manchester to shoot the final season of Peaky Blinders. Pre-production was complete; the sets were built. Yet the first cases of Covid-19 in both England and Ireland had already been identified. There were rumours of lockdowns. Murphy and his co-star, Helen McCrory, who had also been in the series since the show began in 2013, playing Tommy’s spunky Aunt Polly, were concerned.
“I do remember both myself and Helen calling the producers and saying, ‘Guys, surely we can’t do this?’” Murphy recalls. “They were saying, ‘Well, we’re still waiting to see.’ And then, eventually, they called it.”
Murphy found himself at home for 18 months. During that time, he “tried to moderate the wine intake just like everybody else”, but largely got through it unscathed. “I feel bad saying it, but we had an OK lockdown. It was nice to be with the kids. There were a few explosions, but we got on mostly.”
In January 2021, it was deemed safe to recommence filming in Manchester, but by then the circumstances were very different. The UK was still in lockdown and Murphy was required to shuttle only between the set and his rented flat. The memory is not a happy one. “It wasn’t a very pleasant shooting experience,” he says, “for loads of different reasons.”
One reason overshadowed all the others. By the time filming began again, it had become apparent, though not publicly, that McCrory was suffering from breast cancer and would not be able to participate. The script would need to be revised and the character of Aunt Polly written out. On 16 April, midway through filming, the production got the news that McCrory had died. She was 52.
“We were just reeling throughout the whole thing,” says Murphy, who still seems in a kind of shock. “She was a dear, dear pal and she was the beating heart of that show, so it felt very strange being on set without her. The difficult thing to comprehend is that, if it wasn’t for Covid, there would be a whole other version of this show with Helen in it. But she was so private and so fucking brave and courageous.”
“She was inspirational,” he continues. “People throw that word around, but she genuinely was. Her values, the way she dealt with her kids and Damian [Lewis, the actor, and McCrory’s husband of 14 years]…” He starts slipping in and out of the present tense. “She cares about everybody. She’s really funny and really cool, and she had this real warmth. She really cared. It’s just… I still can’t believe she’s not here. It doesn’t make sense. I’ve never lost anyone like that — who was young and a friend. It was very confusing. But she was magnificent. She was an absolutely magnificent person.”
