Sam Neill passed away at 78. In his long legacy of TV programs, he embraces his darker side in one of his most memorable performances as the weasel Chief Inspector Chester Campbell in the first two seasons of Peaky Blinders.
Sent by the Crown to “clean up” the streets of Birmingham, Campbell was the series’s earliest antagonist, and within his first five minutes on screen, you knew exactly who he was.
His opening scene at the local police station has stuck with me since the first time I watched it. There’s an unmistakable moral superiority to the way he speaks; he commands through fear, making it clear, without ever raising his voice, that the officers are no longer working with him, but for him. Campbell’s evil comes from conviction, not cruelty alone, and Neill’s portrayal establishes from the very beginning that what makes him so dangerous is that he never sees himself as the villain.
Cillian Murphy’s Tommy Shelby disliked many but feared very few, making Campbell’s ability to rattle him all the more impressive. Their one-on-one confrontations were always a masterclass in tension, with Murphy paying tribute, saying:
“I admired him and adored him in equal measure. He was one of the kindest, funniest, and gentlest people, and one of the finest actors. RIP.”
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Campbell’s introduction in Peaky Blinders - Scene
Tommy meets Campbell Peaky Blinders - Scene