Tom Hardy is known for the dedicated and powerful performances he gives in action movies, crime dramas, and in other genres. But does this incredibly talented actor have a part on the show Peaky Blinders?
Tom Hardy does have a part in Peaky Blinders. He plays Alfred “Alfie” Solomons Jr., a Jewish gang leader. Hardy joined the show during the second series and is a recurring character in the subsequent series.
Read on below to find out more about Tom Hardy’s part in Peaky Blinders as well as his other lesser-known parts.
Alfie Solomons Jr.
Peaky Blinders was created by the writer and director Steven Knight and is a period crime drama TV series about the Shelby family’s experiences with crime and exploits in the time after World War I in Birmingham, England. Cillian Murphy plays Tommy Shelby, and along with Helen McCrory as Elizabeth “Polly” Gray, Joe Cole as John Shelby, and Paul Anderson as Arthur Shelby, they make up their gang’s senior members.
Tom Hardy plays the leader of a separate gang, Alfie Solomons Jr., who is the head of the Jewish gang in the area. His character first appeared in the second episode of the second series, after sending Tommy Shelby a telegram as a greeting and in getting him to help with the war between the Jews and the Italians.
Many fans loved Hardy’s performance, claiming that he’d even stolen the show. As one fan wrote in this Twitter post, “I don’t know who needs to hear this but Alfie Solomons is one of the best characters from Peaky Blinders. In fact, Tom Hardy was the sole reason why I started watching Peaky Blinders.”
Another fan simply posted, “Tom Hardy as Alfie Solomons is the best thing about Peaky Blinders.” Hardy’s inspiration for the character came from a very unusual place, Colm McCarthy, the director of the second season, revealed.
“He wanted to chat to me about what he was thinking of doing and he had this whole conversation about where he was talking about being a bear. And he was like, ‘I’m a good bear, and then I’m a bad bear, and if I get angry bear, it’s like scary bear’ — this whole thing,” McCarthy described.
“And it’s raining and the crew are standing there looking at me like, ‘What is he doing there in this graveyard, under a tree, having this conversation with Tom Hardy about being a bear?’ And I was like, ‘So you want a beard?’ and he was like, ‘Yeah.’ And I was like, ‘Cool, that sounds awesome, that sounds wicked.’”
While Hardy’s image of his character is a bit unusual, it’s interesting to see where he drew his inspiration from. Hardy does rock quite the beard as Alfie Solomons on the show.
Check out the YouTube video below to watch Tom Hardy’s co-stars and directors talk about his character’s arrival on the show and the different acting he brings to the table.
Hardy’s Lesser-Known Roles
Tom Hardy is known for giving great performances in every role he plays. What are some of his earlier, lesser-known roles?
Hardy’s first role was in the 2001 miniseries Band of Brothers, an American war drama based on the non-fiction book by Stephen E. Ambrose produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. He was a part of the supporting cast, playing Private John Janovec.
After that, he quickly gained acting recognition, making his feature film debut in Black Hawk Down, a war thriller directed by Ridley Scott and also released in 2001. Hardy played SPC Lance Twombly in the film, in a cast which included Ewan McGregor, Orlando Bloom, and Jason Isaacs.
In a breakaway from military dramas, Hardy then played the villain Shinzon in the 2002 movie Star Trek: Nemesis. From there, Hardy was well-known in the acting field and played many different characters.