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

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

One such antagonist on the right side of the law is Inspector Campbell. Campbell is sent by Winston Churchill to clean the streets of Birminghama mission that brings him into direct conflict with the Peaky Blinders. Although he presents himself as a law-abiding authority figure above corruption, Campbell is nothing more than 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 movies, then her villainous turn Peaky Blinders It was refreshing, even though he was gone very early.

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

Neill reluctantly accepted Campbell’s fate

Often when big-name actors leave popular TV shows, it’s because a better project came along, but that wasn’t the case with Sam Neill. Peaky Blinders match. In truth, the actor didn’t want to leave, and although some thought it might have been because of his maligned Northern Irish accent, it was 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 nice guy and he’s such a nice guy, but I thought that had already come to an end. He was in New Zealand and I thought I couldn’t just send him the script, so I’m going to call him. So I called him and said, ‘Sam, this character has been brilliant, he’s been fantastic.’ And he said, ‘I don’t want to die’ and then, like a coward, I said, ‘Okay, I’ll think again.’

Whether feeling intimidated by Neill or guilty about writing him off the show, Knight actually considered the actor’s request. But ultimately, this would have hurt the series. Campbell went too far in his rivalry against Tommy’s gang and as a villain in general, and Knight was right that the storyline had run its course. Knight said about breaking the news to Neill,

A week or so passed and I said, ‘We really have to [happen].’ Then, once it was final, he said, ‘Absolutely fantastic.’ He’s brilliant, but yeah, he didn’t want to die.

Polly killed Sam Neill’s Peaky Blinders character

It was her revenge for Campbell assaulting her

Campbell’s sadistic nature would prove to be her undoing when Polly Gray’s (Helen McCrory) abuse made her an enemy. In Peaky Blinders Season 2, Episode 5, Polly goes to Campbell to convince him to release her son Michael (Finn Cole) from prison. Campbell harnesses his power once again and offers Polly a humiliating sexual proposition. She accepts, but Campbell still brutally rapes her.

Not only was this one of the most disturbing scenes and reprehensible acts on the show, 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 is anything but that, and when it was time for Campbell to go, she knew it was up to her to do the job.

At the end of Season 2, she corners Campbell in a phone booth and points a gun at him. He begs her not to go through with it, but in a moment of poetic justice, she fatally shoots him in the groin before leaving the cabin. It was a fitting end for such an evil character, and Peaky Blinders I was right to give Polly that moment.

How Sam Neill felt about Peaky Blinders after it left

He was sad to leave, but still embraced the show

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

Neill also didn’t stop embracing the show after his departure and even attended the Legitimate Peaky Blinders Festival in 2019 (via I am Birmingham). During a question and answer session, when it was revealed that it was, in fact, Neill’s birthday, fans in attendance enthusiastically sang “Happy Birthday” to the actor, showing that he will always be part of the Peaky Blinders fandom.