Why Sam Neill’s Inspector Campbell Left Peaky Blinders, Explained (It’s Not Because of His Accent)

Sam Neill’s Inspector Chester Campbell was a major villain in Peaky Blinders Seasons 1 and 2, and because Neil is a big-name actor, it’s surprising that he left the show so soon. Peaky Blinders is a British crime drama series that follows the post-WW1 events of the titular street gang in Birmingham, England. Over six seasons, Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) and the Peaky Blinders battle a number of antagonists, both legal and criminal, as they seek to expand their empire.

One of the antagonists on the right side of the law is Inspector Campbell. Campbell was sent by Winston Churchill to clean up the streets of BirminghamAn assignment that puts him in direct conflict with the Peaky Blinders. Although he presents himself as a law-abiding authority figure above corruption, Campbell is nothing but a hypocrite. He is also an extreme sadist and enjoys using his power to inflict pain. Sam Neill is best known as good guy Dr. Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park films, so his villain turn Peaky Blinders Was refreshing, even if he left Too soon.

The creator of Peaky Blinders has decided it’s time for Sam Neill’s character to be killed off

Neal reluctantly accepted Campbell’s fate

Often when big-name actors leave popular TV shows, it’s because there was a better project, but that’s not the case with Sam Neill’s. Peaky Blinders Departure. In fact, the actor did not want to leave, and although some thought it might be because of his maligned Northern Irish accent, it is because Peaky Blinders Creator Steven Knight knew Inspector Campbell’s time had come. He said Express:

I just think he’s brilliant, he’s such a great guy and so lovely, but I thought it had passed. He was in New Zealand and I was like I can’t just send him the script so I went to call him. So I phoned him up and said, ‘Sam, the character was brilliant, he was fantastic.’ And he said, ‘I don’t want to die’ and so like a coward I said, ‘Oh okay, I’ll have another think.’

Whether he felt intimidated by Neil or guilt over writing him off the show, Knight actually considered the actor’s request. But ultimately, this would have come to the detriment of the series. Campbell had taken things too far in his feud against Tommy’s gang and as a villain in general, and Knight was right that the storyline had flown. Nate said of breaking the news to Neil,

A week passed and I said, ‘It’s really good [happen].’ Then as soon as it was set, he was like, ‘Absolutely, fantastic.’ He is brilliant but yes he did not want to die.

Polly killed Sam Neill’s Peaky Blinders character

It was her revenge for Campbell assaulting her

Campbell’s sadistic nature would be his downfall when his abuse of Polly Gray (Helen McCrory) makes an enemy of her. in Peaky Blinders Season 2, Episode 5 Polly goes to Campbell to get him to release her son Michael (Finn Cole) from prison. Campbell uses his power yet again, offering Polly a demeaning sexual proposition. She accepts, but Campbell still brutally rapes her.

Not only was this one of the show’s most disturbing scenes and reprehensible acts, but it was also a bad move on Campbell’s part, as Polly is out for blood after what he did to her. Although he wanted to think of Polly as “Small and weak“She was anything but, and when it was time for Campbell to go, she knew it was up to her to do the job.

In the season 2 finale, she corners Campbell in a phone booth and pulls a gun on him. He asks her not to go through with it, but In a moment of poetic justice, she shoots his father in the shoulders Before striding out of the booth. It was a fitting end for such an evil character, and Peaky Blinders Was right to give the moment to Polly.

How Sam Neill felt about Peaky Blinders after he left

He was sad to leave but still embraced the show

When talking to RadioTimes.comSam Neill echoes Steve Knight’s sentiment that he didn’t want to leave Peaky Blinderssaid, “I absolutely love Peaky Blinders. I think Steve’s writing is fantastic. I am the biggest fan of Cillian and Helen and Paul [Anderson].“

Neil also didn’t stop embracing the show after his departure, even attending the legitimate Peaky Blinders festival In 2019 (by I’m Birmingham). During a Q&A, when it was revealed that it was, in fact, Neil’s birthday, fans in the audience enthusiastically sang “Happy Birthday” to the actor, showing that he will always be part of the cast. Peaky Blinders Fandom.