Peaky Blinders: Which Football Teams Cillian Murphy & Rest of the Cast Support

Peaky Blinders fever is back in full flow with Series 5 now well underway.

Tommy Shelby and co are still up to no good and might have just met their match (but probably not) in this series, with the Glaswegian gang the Billy Boys the latest in a long line of villains to make their way to Small Heath.

Here at 90min we'll look to swing anything back to football so, by order of the Peaky Blinders, check out our rundown of which teams your favourite characters support in real life...

Paul Anderson

Warning - Video contains explicit language.

Paul Anderson has left very little doubt over where his allegiances lie, appearing in a video on Kieran Tierney's Twitter feed in character as Arthur Shelby holding up a Celtic shirt.

The London-born actor hasn't actually ever claimed to be a Celtic fan, but we're more than happy to hedge our bets.

"In the end, it’s God who pulls that f****** trigger anyway. We don’t get to decide who lives and who dies, Finn. Not us. You just have to flick a switch." - Arthur Shelby.

Adrien Brody

Your guess is as good as ours as to who Adrien Brody supports - if in fact he even follows any football team.

But he was in attendance at the World Cup final, and as his character Luca Changretta is an Italian American, let's just guess that he's adopted Genoa as his team. I Rossoblu were the most successful team in Italy when Brody's character rocked up at Small Heath in the mid-1920s.

"I have a tailor in New York City. Look... Fenacci. Italian. He's my uncle. He makes suits in a basement in Mott Street. He is my uncle, so every stitch is stitched with blood... I heard you dress well, Mr. Shelby. But now I see, not so well as me." - Luca Changretta.

Sam Claflin

No guesswork needed here (thank goodness)!

He might be new to the Peaky Blinders series, playing MP Oswald Mosley who is based on a real-life politician and fascist leader during the 20s and 30s, but actor Sam Clafin is a recognisable face in Hollywood, having appeared in both the Pirates of the Caribbean and Hunger Games franchises.

The 33-year-old hasn't kept his favourite team a secret either, with Clafin a lifelong Norwich City fan (and now Teemu Pukki fan too, we're guessing).

"Mr Shelby, you have come to my attention." - Oswald Mosley.

Aidan Gillen

It might not be known exactly who Aidan Gillen supports at club level, but his link with Irish football makes his connection to the sport one of the most fascinating out of the entire Peaky Blinders cast.

The narrator of a documentary called Division: The Irish Soccer Split, Gillen's grandfather was interestingly one of the founding members of the Football Association of Ireland (FAI).

"The copper's alive, got a description of the Italians, the Italians will be forced underground. We're gypsies, we're already underground." - Aberama Gold.

Joe Cole

It would almost be too perfect if Joe Cole, who plays John Shelby in Peaky Blinders, supported the team where his footballing namesake grew up.

But West Ham fan Cole has had to explain how the former England international footballer once made him consider changing his name, even though taking his mother's surname would have made him sound like a different kind of actor...

"I thought about using my mother’s surname but Quest sounded like a porn name," Cole told The Metro. "And it’s my name and he plays for my beloved West Ham, so it’s not an issue. I’ll know I’ve arrived when I outscore him on Google images."

"We’re Peaky Blinders. We’re not scared of coppers. If they come for us, we’ll cut ‘em a smile each." - John Shelby.

Tom Hardy

Again, this might involve a little bit of guesswork. But if you'd been given a present from Daniele De Rossi, it's safe to say that you'd be an AS Roma fan too.

Back in 2018 during a press tour for Venom, Tom Hardy was handed two different Roma shirts which were claimed to be a gift from then captain De Rossi.

He even promised to wear one of the shirts in his next interview, so proof if proof were needed..ish.

He has also been spotted at Anfield.

"If you pull that trigger, right, you pull that trigger for a f****** honourable reason. Like an honourable man, not like some f****** civilian that does not understand the wicked way of our world, mate." - Alfie Soloman.

Steven Knight

Peaky Blinders' creator Steven Knight isn't just a football fan, he's been wearing Birmingham City's infamous blue and white about as long as he's been able to walk.

He'll probably have to backtrack on his dream footballer to feature in the TV series, however, after Spanish talisman Jota ditched life at St Andrew's to join rivals Aston Villa.

When asked that million-dollar question last year, Knight said: "Jota. You know when someone is a gangster and they are small, so you wonder about them, and think they must have something? I could see him doing that."

In contrast, poet and actor Benjamin Zephaniah – who made regular cameos as Jeremiah Jesus – is a lifelong Aston Villa fan, possibly causing some friction around derby day. 

"Sir, with the greatest respect... Thomas Shelby is a murdering, cutthroat, mongrel, gangster." - Inspector Campbell.

Cillian Murphy

Tommy Shelby might be doing his level best not to let slip who his favourite football team really is, but actor Cillian Murphy is supposedly among a host of famous faces whose allegiances lie with Celtic. 

Playing the show's lead character, Murphy has helped to build a cult following of fans with Peaky Blinders and turned it into a modern-day hit, helping to create a character that will stand the test of time in Thomas Michael Shelby. 

"I don't pay for suits. My suits are on the house or the house burns down." - Tommy Shelby.