Raw, cinematic, and jaw-dropping, Peaky Blinders has been heralded as one of the best British shows on television. The series focuses on the titular Peaky Blinders gang in Birmingham, England, as they pave their way through a post-World War environment. The ensemble cast is jam-packed with talent, and Tom Hardy stands out from the rest of the actors in his role as the unforgettable Alfie Solomons.
As the leader of a Jewish gang, Alfie is a terrifying blend of dark, hilarious, and positively unhinged. He steals the spotlight in almost every scene. Now that the series has concluded, we’re all anticipating the upcoming Peaky Blinders movie to bring about new adventures. In the meantime, let’s take a stroll down memory lane and rank eight of Tom Hardy’s best moments as Alfie Solomons.
8 Meeting Aberama Gold
Via: BBC Studios
Alfie is ruthless, plain and simple. When the man has something to say, he says it without fear of how anyone else will respond. This is brilliantly displayed when he first meets Aberama Gold back in season 4 of Peaky Blinders — Gold interjects during Alfie’s conversation with Tommy, and he’s quick to let loose on the hitman. Even before he unleashes a vicious speech promoting Goliath as his fighter, he drags Gold’s hairstyle and implores Tommy to consider whether he’s made a mistake in working with him.
7 Alfie Apologizes to Arthur Shelby
Alfie’s history with Arthur Shelby throughout Peaky Blinders is colorful, to say the least. After getting Arthur humiliated, beaten up and jailed, Alfie decides to reunite with him in season 3 to apologize. What’s brilliant about this scene is the power dynamic between the two: Arthur is unhinged but desperately trying to hide it, while Alfie fully recognizes who he is and openly speaks his mind. The encounter begins as a genuine, albeit humorous, apology, but degrades into Alfie proving to Tommy that his brother is just as dangerous as ever. It’s one thing to command a room with your own unpredictability, but for Alfie to be the more collected one as Arthur visibly fights the urge to bash his head in? That takes guts.
6 “If This Is Hell…”
BBC Studios
Peaky Blinders season 4 left fans certain that Alfie was dead after taking a bullet from Tommy himself. In a brilliant turn of events, he reappeared in that season’s finale, revealing that he’d survived and was hiding out in Margate. He looks broken and tired, but seeing Alfie come back is enough to make any fan cheer. As he recounts the tale of where he’d been since Thomas shot him, he recalls waking up in the tide and thinking, “If this is hell… it looks a lot like Margate.” Profound and witty, it’s just one more affirmation that Alfie is unapologetically himself even in the direst situations.
5 “Imagine That You Could Not See”
There are so many layers to Alfie’s personality that sometimes it’s hard to tell whether he’s a villain or not in Peaky Blinders. One of the best examples is a scene from season 4, wherein he had a meaningful conversation with Tommy before the boxing match between Goliath and Bonnie Gold. While the two awaited the fight, Alfie gave us all an interesting piece of philosophy, urging Tommy to imagine if he’d been born blind only to suddenly be able to see one day. He claims that the subsequent feeling is ’the revelation’ and that he had one when he found a slice of paradise in Margate. It gave us insight into Alfie’s impending betrayal and acted as a sort of warning for what was coming.
4 Selecting the Jewels
When Tommy needs someone to pose as his jeweler in a Russian safe under the River Thames, Alfie is his cohort of choice. Everything about Alfie’s presence in this scene is stellar. His disdainful remarks about the Russians hunting his mother with dogs, his expressive analysis of each piece of jewelry — Alfie is the focal point of the room. The atmosphere shifts between his unbothered sense of humor and his venomous tension with Romanov, and the whole scene keeps you on the edge of your seat.
3 Meeting Luca
It’s no secret that Alfie loves his community and fiercely advocates for the blind, considering he has a cousin who was born without sight. When he first meets the infamous Luca Changretta in season 4 of Peaky Blinders, he does so with his eyes closed; when prodded by Changretta, he explains that he strives to spend half an hour a day with his eyes closed to better understand the lives of those he generously supports. Even as Luca stares him down and tries to intimidate him, he keeps his eyes closed and fearlessly chides Luca for his failures. He proves right off the rip that he isn’t afraid of anything and makes a point to fulfill his entire half-hour before opening his eyes to the Italians. What a power move!
2 The Grenade Conniption
In the season 2 finale, Thomas makes a dangerous excursion to meet with Alfie at his own rum distillery to forge a business plan. Alfie isn’t willing to negotiate his terms, and his reaction when Tommy claims that his associate will destroy the entire place with a tripwire grenade is genius. He calls a bluff, and their negotiation plays out with the tact and tension only Peaky Blinders can pull off. Plus, they still manage to make a deal. It’s a great way to showcase the complexity of their relationship.
1 “You Pull That Trigger For a Reason!”
Tommy and Alfie have unmatched chemistry on-screen, and watching their face-off is electrifying. In season 3, the pair meet (along with one of Alfie’s associates) to exchange information on where to find Fabergé eggs, and the encounter quickly spirals out of control when Tommy outs him as a traitor. Not only does Alfie not budge with a gun aimed at his face, but he also comes back with an impassioned speech calling out his partner’s hypocrisy. Their business is dark and gruesome, and Alfie reminds Tommy of this with one of his best quotes in the series: “If you pull that trigger, you pull that trigger for a [censored] honorable reason like an honorable man! Not like some [censored] civilian that doesn’t understand the wicked way of our world, mate.”
