Tim Roth says he made an important change to his Peaky Blinders villain

A villain gets a new edge

Peaky Blinders is stepping back into the spotlight with The Immortal Man, arriving after the original series ended in 2022. The story moves six years forward from the Season 6 finale and brings Thomas Shelby back into a world shaped by war, exile, and unfinished family troubles.

One of the biggest new faces is Tim Roth, who joins the film as John Beckett. His character changed significantly before filming, and that choice helped shape how Beckett fits into the darker, tense world awaiting Tommy Shelby.

Why Roth changed Beckett

Tim Roth said Beckett was first written as an aristocratic figure. He asked to flip that idea and make the character working class, giving him a more schoolteacher feel rather than the air of someone born far above the people around him.

That shift mattered because Roth felt a more overtly posh version of the character would not connect naturally with the Peaky Blinders’ world. By changing Beckett’s class, he believed the character could speak their language and feel more believable without rewriting the dialogue.

A villain who blends in

Roth explained that Beckett became more dangerous because he could seem familiar instead of distant. Rather than standing apart from the people he wanted to influence, this version of the character could move closer to them and communicate in a way that felt natural.

That idea gives Beckett a quieter kind of threat. Roth’s version is not built around flashy evil or wild behavior, but around someone who can slide into Duke Shelby’s world and make his influence felt through calm words and steady control.

The war behind the story

The movie is set during World War II and opens with Tommy Shelby living in self-imposed exile as the conflict reshapes Europe. He is living in isolation, working on his manuscript while still being haunted by memories of his daughter Ruby.

From there, the story pulls him back to Birmingham after years in exile. The setting gives the movie a heavier historical backdrop, and wartime pressure adds even more weight to the personal battles awaiting Tommy once he returns home.

Tommy faces Duke at home

One of the biggest story threads centers on Tommy Shelby and his illegitimate son, Duke. By the time Tommy comes back, Duke has already taken control of the gang, which sets up a tense clash between the old leader and the next generation.

That family conflict gives the movie more than just a wartime setting. It turns the story into a struggle over power, legacy, and influence, with Beckett positioned near Duke at a moment when the younger Shelby already carries anger toward the world around him.

Roth drew from family history

Roth also connected Beckett to something deeply personal from his own family history. He shared that his father served in the Air Force in Britain during World War II after being sent to work in factories and fields in England as an immigrant child.

Roth said the war became, in a strange way, a safer place for his father than the life he had known as a child. That history gave Roth another layer to draw from while shaping a character inside a story already filled with conflict and wartime shadows.

A calm villain feels scarier

Roth did not want Beckett to become wildly unhinged or cartoonishly evil. Instead, he leaned into a measured, reasonable style, making the character seem controlled and thoughtful, which gives his menace a quieter and possibly more unsettling effect.

That approach fits a man portrayed as a British fascist operative who draws Duke Shelby into his orbit. Rather than forcing power through noise, Beckett appears to work through patience and persuasion, which makes his role in the story feel especially dangerous.

Fun fact: Tim Roth has already played a major screen villain before, appearing in Marvel stories as Emil Blonsky, better known as Abomination.

Big cast old and new

The movie brings back several familiar faces from the original run, including Cillian Murphy, Stephen Graham, Sophie Rundle, Ned Dennehy, and Packy Lee. At the same time, it adds major newcomers like Rebecca Ferguson, Barry Keoghan, and Tim Roth.

That mix gives the film a bridge between the world longtime viewers know and the fresh tensions this story introduces. Roth steps into that lineup with a role that was adjusted behind the scenes, making Beckett stand out even before audiences meet him.

Arthur’s absence stands out

While many returning cast members are back, Paul Anderson does not appear in the film as Arthur Shelby. He addressed that absence by saying he left the filmmakers to handle it and added that he thought the way things were done was powerful.

In the movie, Arthur’s absence becomes a major source of Tommy’s guilt and one of the story’s darkest emotional threads.

Anderson said people had long expected Arthur to die, though he was surprised by how much viewers loved the character, even when Arthur could be harsh and difficult on-screen.

Arthur may still linger

Even with Arthur absent in the usual way, Anderson suggested that it does not necessarily close the door on the character’s legacy. He said plans exist for another two seasons, though he was unsure whether the focus would shift to a younger generation.

Anderson also suggested Tommy’s story was not necessarily finished, a point that now looks more meaningful after Netflix announced a sequel series with two new six-episode seasons. That idea aligns with the movie’s broader mood, in which the past continues to weigh heavily on those still alive.

The ending once looked different

Anderson also revealed that the larger Peaky Blinders story was once supposed to end very differently. Steven Knight had imagined a final moment tied to the start of World War II, creating a bookend to the series, which began just after World War I.

In that earlier idea, bells and sirens would sound as war with Germany began, and the children would go off to fight. It was meant to include Tommy, Arthur, and John Shelby, giving the saga a sweeping finish built around the idea of history repeating itself.

Fun fact: The real Peaky Blinders were a Birmingham gang, but historians say the razor-blade caps are likely a myth.

Why the story kept going

That original ending changed after John Shelby died early in Season 4, following Cole’s exit after Season 3. Anderson said that the loss altered the shape of the planned conclusion, and from there the story moved forward instead of closing at that earlier point.

Because of that shift, The Immortal Man became the continuation of a path that might once have ended elsewhere. The movie now carries the weight of both what was planned and what had to change after one major character’s death reshaped everything.

Still curious about Arthur’s missing place in all this? Take a look here, Steven Knight opens up about the mystery surrounding Arthur Shelby and his fate in the new film ‘Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man’.

Why Beckett matters now

With Tommy returning from exile, Duke controlling the gang, and war pressing in from every side, Beckett arrives at a key moment. Roth’s class change helped make the character feel closer to the world he wants to enter and influence.

That may be what makes Beckett such an important figure in this story. He is not just another threat standing in Tommy Shelby’s way, but someone carefully reshaped into a villain who can move quietly, speak clearly, and get dangerously close to power.

For a lighter look behind all that grit, check out Rebecca Ferguson reveals Cillian Murphy’s shocking sense of humor on the Peaky Blinders set and shares hilarious moments.

Do you think Beckett’s quieter, more calculated style makes him an even more dangerous villain? Share your take in the comments and leave a like if you want to see how this new threat changes Tommy’s world.

This slideshow was made with AI assistance and human editing.

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