He is a very committed actor who takes his roles very seriously

Cillian Murphy Gave Up Vegetarianism After 15 Years For 'Peaky Blinders' Role

Cillian Murphy stars in Peaky Blinders as "Thomas Shelby." Did you know that the 40-year-old actor ditched vegetarianism after 15 years of being devoted to that lifestyle? It seems that the producers of the series were concerned about him looking very skinny!

The fan-favorite "Arthur Shelby"!

Life Before Fame: 'Peaky Blinders' Star Paul Anderson

For the first season of Peaky Blinders, producers were afraid that Cillian Murphy could look "like a skinny Irish fella," for his role as "Thomas Shelby," who is quite distant from being a "weak" man. That was why the 40-year-old actor gave up vegetarianism after 15 years of not eating meat.

Some vegetarians might raise their eyebrows after learning Cillian Murphy's decision of quitting vegetarianism for career prospects, but the lifestyle he was devoted to for one decade and a half was actually not related to moral issues. The Irish actor once revealed that he decided to be a vegetarian only because he was worried about getting mad cow disease, which makes us think it was probably not so hard for him to start eating meat when his personal trainer recommended to do so in order to help him bulk up for the first season of Peaky Blinders in 2013.

THIS was Cillian Murphy's first non-vegetarian meal in 15 years

Suggesting he's an all or nothing man, or revealing some black and white thinking, Cillian Murphy went for a venison (deer) steak while he was on a trip to a country house in Ireland for his wife's (Yvonne McGuinness) 40th birthday. That was his first non-vegetarian meal in 15 years after being asked to eat meat for his role in Peaky Blinders. The first time the actor opened up about how he ditched vegetarianism was in 2017 during an interview with Mr Porter, where he ordered mineral water and a cheeseburger, which according to him was "extraordinary."

However, giving up vegetarianism is not the only thing Cillian Murphy has done for his role in Peaky Blinders. Since "Tommy" is almost never without a cigarette in his hand, the actor has smoked at least 1,000 cigarettes while filming the series.