Steven Knight's new Disney+ series A Thousand Blows is set in the East End of London in the 1880s, and has been inspired by real-life stories of people from that time.
Malachi Kirby is one of the leading actors on the show, and he plays the character of Hezekiah Moscow – based on a real person.
Speaking with Digital Spy ahead of the release of the series, the BAFTA-winning star opened up about the process of preparing for the role and what is known about him.
"He's actually based on a real person," Kirby said. "There was a guy called Hezekiah Moscow that came from Jamaica to London to become a lion tamer and ended up becoming a boxer instead. As crazy as it sounds! It actually happened."
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"But I guess what I couldn't ever find out was how he actually was as a person," he continued. "You know there was information about the things that took place in his life, some of the events that took place, but not about his character, how he held himself, his mannerisms, so that was where artistic licence came in."
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As for what Kirby based his portrayal on, he continued: "There's two photographs, one in particular, of this person.
"One of them is him topless, in kind of a boxer pose, and the other one is him in this kind of garment, he just looks very regal. And both these pictures were taken in the 1800s. So it's not often that you see a picture of a Black man in that time anyway, and if you do usually they're in a position of servitude.
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"So just seeing that alone, it was like okay 'who is this person that was worth being photographed in other people's eyes?'
"So I spent a lot of time just studying the pictures and trying to get a grasp of who this person was and his essence. And trying to channel that for myself."
Stephen Graham and Erin Doherty also star in the series, with their characters being boxer Sugar Goodson and leader of the Forty Elephants gang Mary Carr.
A Thousand Blows is now streaming on Disney+.
TV Editor, Digital Spy Laura has been watching television for over 30 years and professionally writing about entertainment for almost 10 of those. Previously at LOOK and now heading up the TV desk at the UK's biggest TV and movies site Digital Spy, Laura has helped steer conversations around some of the most popular shows on the box. Laura has appeared on Channel 5 News and radio to talk viewing habits and TV recommendations. As well as putting her nerd-level Buffy knowledge to good use during an IRL meet with Sarah Michelle Gellar, Laura also once had afternoon tea with One Direction, has sat around the fire pit of the Love Island villa, spoken to Sir David Attenborough about the world's oceans and even interviewed Rylan from inside the Big Brother house (housemate status, forever pending).
