The Peaky Blinders Exit Even Some Of The Cast Didn't Know Was Coming

"Peaky Blinders" isn't exactly short of star power — after all, the show's main character is played by Cillian Murphy, who's regularly appeared in some of the biggest movies Hollywood has ever thrown at viewers' eyeballs. Even so, when Tom Hardy turned up in Season 2 as conniving, hard-as-nails Alfie Solomons, it was not exactly hard to assume that an A-lister of his caliber wouldn't chain himself into a small-screen role for long. Nevertheless, the scene-stealing Alfie became a major character who turned up on a regular basis to trade barbs with Tommy ... only to betray the Peaky Blinder, and die after a faceoff in Season 4 Episode 6.

As Paul Anderson (who plays Arthur Shelby in the show) told Digital Spy, this development was so shocking that even some cast members had no idea that Alfie wouldn't survive that Season 4 beach scene. "I didn't know that was coming," Anderson revealed. "We were unsure ... there was a whole thing about whether or not Alfie would live or die, or get shot or not. It was up for debate and discussion."

Of course, Alfie's exit wasn't a permanent one. According to Anderson, Hardy was personally very much against his removal from the show. In fact, per the Independent, Alfie made his magnificent return in Season 5 precisely because Hardy badgered "Peaky Blinders" creator Steven Knight into writing him back in the show.