Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, a spinoff of the series Peaky Blinders, is out on Netflix on March 20.

Star Cillian Murphy (who plays Tommy Shelby) revealed on Late Night With Seth Meyers how he convinced actor Barry Keoghan to play his son, Duke Shelby.

Fans had an unexpected reaction to the unique method of casting.

If you’re looking to work alongside Cillian Murphy on an acting project, it turns out all you need to do is send a text.

The actor is in the middle of promoting his upcoming film Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man (out on Netflix on Friday, March 20, 2026), and fans are ecstatic about Cillian reprising his role as Tommy Shelby from the original series. After all, it’s been four years since the last episode of Peaky Blinders aired, and we’re all dying to know what’s happened to the gang since then.

One thing that’ll look different in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man is that viewers get to know Thomas’ son, Duke Shelby, played by Academy Award nominee Barry Keoghan. When Cillian appeared on Late Night With Seth Meyers on March 10, host Seth Meyers asked how the partnership came to be. Cillian (who’s also a producer on the film) cheekily revealed that all his former Dunkirk co-star had to do was text him about something else entirely.

“We’ve known each other since Dunkirk, so he was, like, only a kid then,” he explained in a clip of the interview posted on TikTok. “So, he texted me on Father’s Day—I had forgotten it was Father’s Day, or nobody had let me know it was Father’s Day. I didn’t get any … Anyway, Barry texted me, very kindly and very nicely, and he said, you know, ‘Hey Cill, how are you doing?’ And then I said, ‘I’ll just say it to him now.’”

What exactly what “it”? Oh, just Cillian asking Barry to work alongside him in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man. No big deal. And apparently, Barry kept his friend waiting with bated breath.

“So I text him back. I said, ‘Hi, do you wanna play my son in Peaky Blinders?’” he added. “And there was a sort of … you know when you can see people are typing? And then he said, ‘Yeah.’ He was into it.”

Fans had a lot to say when they heard how it all came to be.

“Talk about the most perfect casting ❤️,” one person wrote in the comments.

“Wow Barry is gonna play the hell out of that role. Can’t wait!” another penned.

“I’m beyond excited for this omggggggg,” a different follower cheered.

It was clear from the beginning that Barry loved the idea of working alongside Cillian again, as evidenced by this video posted to the Peaky Blinders official Instagram.

“Texting Cillian Murphy on Father's Day and then playing his son is pure manifestation,” the caption read alongside the clip on March 14.

We can’t wait to see this story and partnership come to life on screen!