Martin Compston has revealed he auditioned for the part of Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders.
The Line of Duty star was desperate to land the part of the crime boss but lost out to Cillian Murphy.
Compston, 38, who is currently starring in BBC drama Mayflies, admitted he knew he would lose out to Irish actor Murphy.
He said: “I’m not good at accents, I couldn’t do a Brummie accent right now.
“(Writer) Jed Mercurio 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,’ and you just don’t follow it up again ever.”
Compston was speaking on the Restless Natives podcast.
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