Mcdonald’s reopens 20 more stores
Creator admits he couldn’t see past Cillian’s real-life character ...and wanted tough-guy Jason
Mcdonald’s
He sent me a text saying: ‘Remember I am an actor’
STEVEN
KNIGHT
FAST food fans rejoiced yesterday as Mcdonald’s reopened 20 stores for drive-through only.
There are now 34 eateries operating with reduced hours between 11am and 10pm here.
The locations of those restaurants which served customers again was spread across the country with a full list available on the Mcdonald’s website.
They included stores in busy areas such as Cork, Galway, Waterford and Kildare.
A spokesman said: “Mcdonald’s and its franchisees are working closely with gardai and may determine that it is necessary to close lanes if queues cause disruption at busier sites or put employees or customers at risk.”
Cork’s Cillian Murphy plays Tommy Shelby
PEAKY Blinders creators initially looked over Cillian Murphy for the part of Thomas Shelby because he is so different in real life.
Writer Steven Knight revealed he had his heart set on Jason Statham to play Tommy in the BBC series before the Cork star swayed him with a text.
The TV boss met both actors and was convinced Statham, known for his action roles, was the right fit due to his physicality.
But Batman Begins star Cillian, who was eventually given the role of the Birmingham gangster, convinced him otherwise.
Knight told Esquire:
“I met them both in LA to talk about the role and opted for Jason.
“One of the reasons was because physically in the room Jason is Jason.
“Cillian, when you meet him, isn’t Tommy, obviously, but I was stupid enough not to understand that.”
Murphy appeared to sense that he
SHOW creator Steven Knight admits he wished he hadn’t killed off these characters.
Cosmo Jarvis
wasn’t Knight’s pick for the role, and sent him a message in a last effort to convince him otherwise.
Looking back at how his decision, and the future of the show changed with one sentence, Knight said: “He sent me a text saying, ‘Remember, I’m an actor’.
“Which is absolutely the thing, because he can transform himself. If you meet him in the street he is a totally different human being.”
During the same interview, Knight also revealed he regretted killing off Aidan Gillen’s character Aberama Gold from the show.
He said: “I should have kept him alive, I could have just wounded him.
“It’s a funny position where you create these people and then you have to kill them. It’s not nice.
“The other one is Tom Vaughanlawlor who played Malacki Byrne and it’s quite a small part but he just took it over and he was brilliant.”
Aidan Gillen
Action hero Jason Statham was first pick
Tom Vaughan-lawlor
Sam Neill