Tag: Cillian Murphy

Categories Peaky Blinders Print Media Tributes

Cillian Murphy Reflects on the Tragic Loss of his co-star Helen McCrory

Posted On Written By helenistic No Comments on Cillian Murphy Reflects on the Tragic Loss of his co-star Helen McCrory

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.”

Continue reading Cillian Murphy Reflects on the Tragic Loss of his co-star Helen McCrory

Categories Peaky Blinders Tributes

The Observer’s Obituaries of 2021: Helen McCrory Remembered by Cillian Murphy

Posted On Written By helenistic No Comments on The Observer’s Obituaries of 2021: Helen McCrory Remembered by Cillian Murphy

Cillian Remembers Helen: “She was too young. You can’t help but think of all the amazing roles she would have had”

Cillian Murphy | December 12, 2021 | The Observer

17 August 1968 – 16 April 2021

The actor on his Peaky Blinders co-star, a supremely talented and compassionate performer whose grace and dignity never deserted her.

I first met Helen in the late 90s, when I attended an audition for a play at the Donmar Warehouse in London – I think Colin Farrell got the role. For some reason, she was there. I was just starting out, really nervous, and I think she picked up on that. We went outside at one point to smoke a rollie and she was really kind and supportive. I mentioned it to her when we started doing Peaky Blinders and she actually remembered it.

Helen had this genuine compassion. It was part of her DNA. She wasn’t an actor who turned up, did the gig and went home. All the way through Peaky Blinders, she would chat to members of the crew as well as the actors. She knew everyone’s name. It’s a huge collaboration making a series like that and it’s easy to think it’s only about the actors, but she was always very aware of the collective aspect of what we do. At the wrap for series two, she actually got up and performed a poem to us all. It was about how special the show was and how great the crew were. It was humorous, but really considerate. She had obviously put a lot of thought into it. It was pure Helen.

Continue reading The Observer’s Obituaries of 2021: Helen McCrory Remembered by Cillian Murphy

Categories Peaky Blinders Print Media Tributes

Peaky Blinders Dedicates Season 6 to Helen McCrory

Posted On Written By helenistic No Comments on Peaky Blinders Dedicates Season 6 to Helen McCrory

Remembering Colleague and Friend Helen McCrory

by Helenistic | helen-mccrory.com | May 28, 2021

Peaky Blinders Official Twitter let the fans know  today that they just finished filming the sixth and the final season of the series.

Cillian Murphy, who led the Peaky Blinders tributes to Helen in April, recently revealed how hard it has been filming the last scenes of Peaky Blinders without her in an interview with Men’s Health Magazine. Continue reading Peaky Blinders Dedicates Season 6 to Helen McCrory

Categories Peaky Blinders Print Media Tributes

The Chap: RIP Helen McCrory

Posted On Written By helenistic No Comments on The Chap: RIP Helen McCrory

Remembering an inspiring encounter with Helen McCrory

Gustav Temple | April 17, 2021 | The Chap

peaky-blinders

As a tribute to the late actress, who died aged 52 on 16th April, Gustav Temple recalls an inspiring encounter with Helen McCrory in 2019, on the eve of Series 5 of Peaky Blinders.

I interviewed Helen McCrory when the fifth season of Peaky Blinders was about to air in 2019. From such a huge star of stage and screen, I expected the familiar ‘luvvy’ personality and being called ‘darling’ interspersed with quotes from Shakespeare, but Helen was the complete opposite. When asked whether we had accurately described the type of cigarettes she smoked in character as Aunt Polly, she waved her hand airily and said, “Oh, who cares? Let’s not let the facts get in the way of a good story.”

Continue reading The Chap: RIP Helen McCrory