Peaky Blinders actor Aidan Gillen has discussed his character's dramatic makeover in the upcoming fifth season of the hit BBC show.
Having been a mainstay in HBO's beloved Game of Thrones, starring as Littlefinger for several years, Gillen joined Steven Knight's gangster drama back in 2017.
And when gun-for-hire Aberama Gold steps back on screen later this month, viewers should prepare for a big difference in his appearance – and it's a change that Gillen has welcomed.
Related: Peaky Blinders season 5 was meant to end the show, but here's why Steven Knight saved it
"It's three years. I think it's three years after we left after the end of season four. Is that right? So it gives the characters an opportunity to have a haircut and to grow a moustache and to get a new suit made," he recently told Digital Spy.
"I don't know how much has actually been said about it, or about where it's at, and the crash – the financial crash. It sets the stakes higher, I guess, for the Shelbys, given that they've lost a load of money through that.
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"It's the 1930s, you know?" he added. "So we're kind of getting into the 1930s, I guess. It's an interesting decade, everywhere. And, you know, there's consistent… there are things that are consistent with everything that's gone before, but obviously you can't just do the same thing over and over again."
"It's nice to have that kind of gap where you can see that characters have maybe changed a bit in the interim, you know?" Gillen continued.
"I personally thought a physical change might be quite interesting for a character like Aberama Gold, who is a man of mystery, and an evader of the law, like a lot of characters in this."
He added: "But if you're a professional hitman and you don't like to be recognised or even noticed, it's probably not a bad idea to change how you look every now and then.
"It seems like a nice opportunity to do that."
Peaky Blinders seasons 5 returns to BBC One on Sunday, August 25 at 9pm.
Obsessed With… Peaky Blinders hosted by Digital Spy's Editor, Laurence Mozafari, is out now and available to listen to on BBC Sounds.
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Dan is a freelance entertainment journalist. Beginning his writing career in 2014, Dan's work first graced the pages of cult publications Starburst magazine and Little White Lies before moving onto Total Film, Digital Spy, NME and Yahoo Entertainment.
In the film and TV universe, he kneels at the altar of Jim Carrey, Daniel Plainview, Mike Ehrmantraut and Paulie Walnuts.
