Jodie Comer apparently auditioned for a role in Peaky Blinders is filled with fantastic performances, from Cillian Murphy as the haunted Tommy Shelby to Natasha O'Keeffe as the beleaguered Lizzie. Every actor in Steven Knight's period crime drama subsumes their character and creates something fantastic. It's hard to imagine some of these characters being played by anyone else, but there were no doubt other talented actors who read for the parts.

Jodie Comer, for instance, said she read for the series. Comer's star has slowly but steadily risen in Hollywood since 2018, when she starred as Villanelle in the hit action series, Killing Eve. From there, her career has taken her to some interesting destinations in the television and movie landscape. She's starred in family blockbuster films like Free Guy; had critical roles in dark, period pieces like The Last Duel; and has worked on gritty crime dramas like The Bikeriders. Had she gotten her part in Peaky Blinders, her career may have shot off even earlier than 2018.

Jodie Comer Revealed She Unsuccessfully Auditioned For Peaky Blinders In A BuzzFeed Conversation With Austin Butler

Comer Did Not Reveal Who She Read For

In a BuzzFeed conversation with Austin Butler, where the pair were promoting The Bikeriders, they each answered 30 questions. One of the questions was,

"If you could go back and star in a movie or show one of your 'The Bikeriders' co-stars was in, which would it be?"

Butler and Comer both say Peaky Blinders, as Tom Hardy, who plays Johnny Davis in The Bikeriders, also plays Alfie Solomons in Peaky Blinders​​​​. Comer laughs and quickly mentions, "I definitely auditioned for Peaky Blinders and didn't get it so...". An impressed Butler responds, "Really?" That's all she says about it, so we don't know for sure who she was up for, but considering Peaky Blinders is a male-dominated series, there aren't as many options as you may think for who Comer read for.

In the BuzzFeed conversation, Austin Butler says he auditioned for Peeta in The Hunger Games, a role which ultimately went to Josh Hutcherson.

The most likely candidates are either Ada Shelby (Sophie Rundle) or Grace Shelby (Annabelle Wallis), simply because they would be memorable parts for Comer to read for. Those actresses are a few years older than Comer, which is evidence against them, but Comer also looks quite a bit like Wallace. Another possible character is Grand Duchess Tatiana Petrovna, played by Gaite Jansen in season 3. Jansen and Comer are about the same age, and Tatiana is the type of dangerous, wild character that Comer has played before.

Comer Will Star In 28 Years Later, The Latest Movie In The Franchise Once Led By Peaky Blinders Star Cillian Murphy

The Third Film In The Franchise Is Set For Release On June 20, 2025

Though she didn't appear in Peaky Blinders, that didn't prove to be too much of a setback to Jodie Comer's career. She's since become one of Hollywood's rising stars, and she has a lot of big projects on her docket, including a starring role in the long-awaited follow-up to 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later, 28 Years Later. The horror film from director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland, the team behind the original film, which, coincidentally, starred Cillian Murphy, is set for release on June 20, 2025.

Comer will star as Isla, a pregnant woman who is married to Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and lives on the tidal island of Lindisfarne, Northumberland, which was protected from the outbreak because there is only one causeway to the island, and it's heavily defended. The plot for the film has been kept under wraps, but it is sure to be a bloody and frightening time. It's still unknown if Murphy will be returning for the film, but if he does, that will be the second time Jodie Comer shares the screen with a Peaky Blinders star.