Martin Compston reveals Peaky Blinders role he auditioned for before being snubbed for show star
MARTIN Compston has revealed a Peaky Blinders role that he auditioned for before being snubbed for a show star.
The Line of Duty star revealed he auditioned for a major role in the Brummie crime hit.
But the Greenock-born actor knew he wasn't going to get the part once he heard who he was up against.
Compston, 38, auditioned for the starring role of crime boss Thomas Shelby.
But the Scots star realised he wouldn't be getting to don the iconic flat caps of the Peaky Blinders when his agent told him Cillian Murphy, 46, was auditioning.
He was speaking on his Restless Natives podcast when he revealed the audition and joked about his inability to pull off a Birmingham accent.
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He said: “I’m not good at accents.
"I couldn’t do a Brummie accent right now.
“Jed Mercurio (writer of Line of Duty) is a Brummie, so he recorded all my lines for me and it was one of those moments where you’re like, ‘I’ve got a shout’.
"Then my agent went, ‘Oh, Cillian Murphy is up for that.’
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"And you just don’t follow it up again ever.”
But Compston found himself on the right side of the law in the end, landing a role as TV's favourite anti-corruption cop DI Steve Arnott in Line of Duty.
Fans of the show were given the news earlier this month that the hit cop show will be making a shock comeback.
Stars Adrian Dunbar, Vicky McClure and Compston are on board for the three-part BBC1 special.
And it is set to deliver the explosive climax that was denied to fans in the last series.
Fans of the show will hope bent copper H is finally unmasked when three new episodes of the smash-hit cop drama are shown next year.
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