A Thousand Blows star 'felt like Rocky' training for Peaky Blinders creator's new boxing show
The six-part TV series is created by Steven Knight, the brains behind Peaky Blinders and SAS Rogue Heroes, and it follows an array of characters in London's East End in the Victorian era. Kirby plays Jamaican immigrant Hezekiah Moscow and it follows his rise in the boxing ring and the characters he meets along the way like boxer Sugar Goodson (Stephen Graham) and professional thief Mary Carr (Erin Doherty).
Kirby is gushing when speaking about portraying real-life boxing prodigy Moscow, and says: "It was a joy for me, this little kid in me came out that loved the Rocky films back in the day.
"Getting to train for it I started training in the winter so I think that was like Rocky 4 or something, you're out in the snow training. That was a dream for me, I loved every second of this job literally."
"From the audition process up until right now I've loved every single moment of this job," he adds. "And like usually this is the worst part where it comes out and people have watched it and I thing 'this is the last job I'll ever have'. But I'm so excited, I'm so hopeful.
"I don't know how people will receive it, and at this point I actually don't care. I'm so glad to be part of it, and I think we've done something really special. You know what I mean? I'm just excited to share it with the world, not thinking about what anyone is going to think of. I'm just like 'guys watch it' because I think we did something amazing."
One thing that viewers might enjoy is the fact that Top Boy actor Ashley Walters has turned his skills to being behind the camera, as he directs half of the first season.
Working with Walters as a director was a fun experience for the cast, who share their delight at trying to get him to rap 21 Seconds, the hit song he made with So Solid Crew.
Daniel Mays, who plays MC Punch Lewis, says of Walters: "I've worked as an actor with Ashley, we've done a number of shows together so having him direct me was [mad], but he took to it like a duck to water. In his episodes in particular, he takes care of the back end of the first season, every beat is realised, every dramatic moment, and he's just done a sterling job."
Alec Munroe star Francis Lovehall adds: "It was beautiful working with all directors —Nick Murphy, Tinge,— it was amazing seeing Ashley even work, seeing this transition from director to actor. I grew up on Bullet Boy and seeing him transition into a director so easily was inspiring."
James Nelson-Joyce —who plays Treacle Goodson— grew up on So Solid Crew, the rap group Walters founded, so he couldn't help but sing 21 Seconds every moment he could and he wasn't the only one.
"Ashley was breaking into 21 seconds all the time," Mays quips. "That's how you knew you had a good take under your belt."
Morgan Hilaire was full of praise for Walters because he "gets" what a director needs to be for an actor because he's worked on both sides of the camera: "So there's certain notes he'd give and it wouldn't make sense to maybe someone else but you just know what you're talking about, or like I'll be trying to voice a note that I think might be a good little transition and he'll just get what I'm talking about.
"And it's just so fantastic. I mean, we worked with so many amazing directors and they all had amazing different sparks about them, but just him being an actor before really made me feel so safe."
Her co-star Darci Shaw, who plays maid-turned-thief Alice Diamond, adds: "He just felt so free, he just let you do your gut instinct, and then he'd just be like, 'oh, but I think maybe this' and then it just felt so natural."
"It comes from, because he's an actor himself, his emotional integrity for the characters is so paramount," actor and executive producer Hannah Walters adds. "That's why the character journeys within each episode is very much within him to show, which is what he does incredibly."
A Thousand Blows premieres on Friday, 21 February on Disney+.
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