Peaky Blinders: 30 Best Thomas Shelby Quotes

There are many memorable Thomas Shelby quotes from Peaky Blinders that solidify him as one of the most complex protagonists on television. The Shelby family patriarch, Thomas “Tommy” Shelby, has everything that makes a perfect antihero. He is ruthless, cunning, and can sink to some dark places in order to achieve what he thinks is right.

He speaks confidently and convincingly, changing minds, frightening enemies, and inspiring allies. Tommy has a penchant for infusing creativity into his sentences. Whether he’s talking to a family member, a high-ranking government official, or a foe, the best Thomas Shelby quotes speak to the power of this man.

Even after Cillian Murphy won the Oscar for Oppenheimer, his role in Peaky Blinders remains arguably his finest acting role to date. Most of the best lines in the series come from Tommy, slowly revealing layers of the character season after season, and in the film continuation, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man.

These memorable lines highlight the tragedy and sorrow in his life, the dark brutality he is capable of, and even the rare instances of his twisted sense of humor. Tommy Shelby is a TV character who will live on long after the show’s end, and these quotes cement that fact.

30

“I’m Just Reminding Myself Of Who I’d Be If I Wasn’t Who I Was.”

Season 2, Episode 5

There is a moment in this episode where Thomas Shelby walks into one of his stables. He has had a rough day and isn’t in a good mood. When he sees his employee, Curly, standing there and working at shoveling up the horse waste, Tommy takes off his trench coat and hat, grabs a shovel, and then starts shoveling it all up as well. Curly is shocked and asks his boss what he is doing. Without missing a beat, Tommy delivers this great line to explain the task.

This line has a couple of meanings; one is good, and the other is not quite as well taken. First, Tommy doesn’t want to forget what it is like to shovel up waste for a living because then he will always remember why he never wants to lose his grip on his position of power. However, for Curly, this is also a dark realization that he will never be Tommy, and this is where he is set to live, shoveling up the excrement of horses while Tommy can drop in and do it once and then return to his big house.

29

“There Is No Rest For Me In This World, Perhaps The Next”

Season 4, Episode 6

One thing that Tommy Shelby realized early in his life is that he will never find true peace. When he is talking to his housekeeper in this episode, she seems worried about him and says that he needs to get some rest. However, Tommy knows better as he puts on his coat and hat before taking his cane and heading for the door. He just wearily looks into the distance and delivers this line as he lets her know that he will never find rest and thinks that maybe he might have a chance in the next lifetime.

This is a nice self-reflective line for Tommy. He knows he can’t rest and that there will never be true peace. He always has to either keep fighting or he has to keep looking over his shoulder and protecting what is his. Up until the end of the series, Tommy knows that danger is always there, and the fight to stay on top will never end until he finally dies. It is sad, but it is also true and foreshadows that this story was never meant to have a happy ending.

28

“I’m Thinking Ahead, Thinking Of Every Possibility, Remembering Everything That Is Happening.”

Season 3, Episode 3

There is a moment in season 3 of Peaky Blinders where Tommy Shelby knows that there is danger coming from every direction. His men are telling him what they know, and Tommy has to formulate a plan. The men are all looking at him and then ask him what he is doing about this. Tommy lets them know something that plays into a line in the first season. In that earlier line, he tells Arthur that he thinks so that Arthur doesn’t have to. It wasn’t arrogance; it was just Tommy knowing his role.

Here, he has Vincente Changretta brought to him, and Tommy has him in a cell. The mob boss knows that his time is coming to an end, and Tommy explains his thoughts once again. He reveals that he forgets nothing and remembers everything. This allows him to always think ahead and take action when he sees something coming, ending the threats before they get out of control. It was an intense quote and moment in the show.

27

“In My Head, I Still Pay You For It.”

Season 5, Episode 2

One of the cruelest things that Tommy Shelby ever said on Peaky Blinders came in season 5 when he was talking to Lizzie. At this moment, Lizzie is talking to Tommy about his recent impulsive actions. She explains that, as his wife, when he dies, everything will legally go to her, and she wonders if there will be anything left when he does so. His response is cruel and spiteful, and shows viewers where his mind is at in the marriage.

Tommy only truly loved Grace, and when she was murdered, he never found it in himself to really love anyone else. He tried with Lizzie, and he wanted to give her a better life, but as he admitted here, he never thought of her as anything close to what he thought about Grace in the past. If there is one thing that leveled the playing field, it was Lizzie later reminding Tommy of what he said, saying that she was still taking the payments and setting herself up.

26

“Well, If She’s A Good Woman, Then She’ll Go To Heaven”

Season 3, Episode 3

Thomas Shelby has his men gathered and is trying to figure out the next steps. He knows that they need to bring in Mr. Changretta for revenge since the man ordered the hit on Tommy that resulted in Grace’s death. Tommy wants revenge more than anything, so he orders Arthur and John to bring in Changretta. They mention that he was leaving the country with his wife, and Tommy simply tells them to kill Mrs. Changretta and bring in her husband for him to deal with.

John is taken aback, and Tommy wants to know why. He explains that Mrs. Changretta was their teacher, and she was a good woman. Arthur emphasizes that she is a good person and has nothing to do with Grace’s death. Tommy doesn’t care, though, and delivers one of his coldest quotes, saying if she is a good woman, then she will end up in Heaven once they kill her. They let her live, and she becomes an enemy eventually, her son Luca Changretta.

25

“All Religion Is A Foolish Answer To A Foolish Question.”

Season 3, Episode 3

Cillian Murphy’s Thomas Shelby is prone to a healthy dose of philosophizing, offering his unique takes on everything from the global politics of the early 20th century to religion. Such is the case with this memorable Peaky Blinders quote from season 3, episode 3. Despite coming from a religious background and family, Tommy Shelby himself is mostly agnostic.

It’s not that he rejects the idea of God or a higher power; he just simply views such speculation as a waste of time. The agnosticism demonstrated by this Peaky Blinders quote shows just how well Tommy’s stance works for his incredibly pragmatic character, and is much more fitting than if he’d been heavily religious, or even if his brutal experiences in the trenches of WWI had turned him into a staunch atheist.

24

“We Just Sell Different Parts Of Ourselves.”

Season 1, Episode 3

This is another Tommy Shelby quote that showcases the Peaky Blinders’ character’s uniquely pragmatic view of the world. It’s not that Tommy has no morals or ethics; it’s more that he doesn’t let the opinions of others factor into what he deems as right or wrong. For Tommy Shelby, almost anything that can advance his particular cause is worth doing. However, this also makes him surprisingly non-judgmental, as this early quote from the third episode of season 1 demonstrates.

Grace was one of Tommy’s great loves in the show, and the two had some incredibly memorable conversations even before they became an item. Such as the case when Tommy tries to employ Grace for, essentially, escort services. Grace is taken aback and assumes that Tommy thinks she’s a sex worker. Tommy’s lightning-fast response essentially says that, even if she were, what she’d do is no different from any other person taking money for any other kind of act.

23

“This Is Just Myself, Talking To Myself, About Myself.”

Season 4, Episode 6

Tommy Shelby may appear mostly cool, calm, and collected, but this requires an incredible level of self-control on his part. Occasionally, his cool demeanor slips, and not just when he loses his temper with his subordinates, family, or enemies. There are several occasions when Tommy’s harrowing experience during the First World War catches up with him, and he breaks down under the undiagnosed PTSD he acquired in the trenches.

One of the most heartwrenching times this happens is during season 4 of Peaky Blinders, when Tommy finds himself unable to hold back his mental instability any longer. He is overheard by his housekeeper, who suggests he seek medical help. Tommy replies with this incredibly memorable Peaky Blinders quote. However, it’s also one of the moments when Tommy is shown to be truly vulnerable.

22

“I’m Not God. Not Yet”

Season 5, Episode 1

Tommy Shelby has an incredibly large ego, which is earned for the most part. This ego is also part of what makes him such an endearing character for Peaky Blinders fans, though the same can’t be said for the rest of the characters in the show, especially his family, who find this trait of his to be irksome, to say the least.

Tommy putting his ego on display makes for some of the best Peaky Blinders quotes, like when he acknowledges that while he isn’t God, it may simply just be a matter of time. The quote comes when he’s confronted by his son Charlie, who tells Tommy that he’s “not God” out of frustration with Tommy’s refusal to change his mind. Charlie is even more frustrated by Tommy’s response, though audiences had the opposite reaction, as it’s one of the many great Tommy Shelby quotes that demonstrate his infectious ego and self-determination.

21

“She’s In The Past… And The Past Is Not My Concern.”

Season 1, Episode 6

This Tommy Shelby quote is memorable for several reasons. Firstly, it pertains to Grace, one of the best romantic partners Tommy has had throughout the entirety of Peaky Blinders. There’s something heartbreaking about Tommy clearly trying to convince himself as well as Aunt Polly that he’s already moved on, though, as always, the way the character delivers this sentiment is slick and smooth.

There’s a second layer to the quote that becomes much more apparent when taken with the later events in Peaky Blinders. It’s shown time and time again that Tommy is struggling with PTSD after World War I. While his refusal to get bogged down in his past and only look forward seems like a symptom of his unmatched drive and determination at first, in hindsight, it could also be an act of psychological self-defense to protect himself from the harrowing memories of the trenches of WW1.