It was a proud night for Ireland as Cillian Murphy won the Academy Award for Best Actor on March 11.
Murphy scooped his latest consecutive Best Actor award for his role as J. Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan’s award-winning film. In winning the award, Murphy once again becomes the first Irish-born actor to win the Best Actor award at the Oscars, following on from the feat he accomplished at this year’s BAFTA Film Awards.
Plenty of Brummies will also be proud of Cillian's achievement, considering he played the most famous fictional Birmingham character of all time in his turn as Tommy Shelby in BBC's Peaky Blinders between 2013 and 2023.
And Cillian has even hinted that he could return as Tommy in the upcoming Peaky Blinders film.
We've taken a look at the areas and venues of Birmingham that are associated with Cillian. These include places he's visited in the city and places that have a connection with the hit show. Let's take a look:
1. Hill Street, city centre
Created by Birmingham born and bred artist Jon Jones represented by Castle Fine Art, oil paintings of all the main stars of the smash hit drama including Cillian's Tommy Shelby, as well as Aunt Polly (played by the late Helen McCrory) are on display in Hill Street in the city centre outside New Street station
2. The Garrison Pub, Small Heath
The Birmingham district of Small Heath features as the backdrop for the award-winning gritty gangster series. Cillian Murphy even told of how he went to the real Garrison pub in the neighbourhood (before it closed down) with the show's creator Steve Knight to perfect his Birmingham accent for the show. He said in an interview: “I hung out with Steve, and we went to the actual Garrison pub in Birmingham with his Brummie mates. And we’re just drinking Guinness there, and they’re singing Birmingham City songs and telling all sorts of stories, and I was recording on my iPhone, and then I took that home, and used it to try and track the accents, you know."
3. Tommy Shelby mural, Digbeth
There is also a mural by artist Akse P19, of Cillian as Peaky Blinders crime boss Tommy Shelby by the Old Crown in Digbeth Photo: Jacob King
4. Cineworld, Broad Street
Cillian attended the Peaky Blinders season 2 premiere in 2014. The event was held on Broad Street before the show became a worldwide hit