Jason Statham nearly played Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders

Steven Knight almost cast Jason Statham in \'Peaky Blinders\'.

The 61-year-old showrunner - who created the BBC period drama - initially looked to the big screen action hero to play gang leader Tommy Shelby, before eventually giving the role to Cillian Murphy.

Speaking to Esquire magazine, he said: "I met them both in LA to talk about the role and opted for Jason.

"One of the reasons was because physically in the room Jason is Jason.

"Cillian when you meet him isn\'t Tommy, obviously, but I was stupid enough not to under-stand that."

In the end, Steven was swayed by a text message from Cillian, who pointed out that while he\'s very different from Tommy, he was more than capable of the transformation.

He added: "Afterwards, he me sent a text saying, \'Remember, I\'m an actor\'.

"Which is absolutely the thing because he can transform himself. If you meet him in the street he is a totally different human being."

The show is set for a sixth series, and Steven previously hinted there is more to come once the main story comes to an end.

Steven said: "I know how it\'s going to end, this particular incarnation of the family story, I know that it\'s going to end at the beginning of the Second World War.

"But after that I think that the momentum is such that maybe we will continue with other bits of the story."

He also rubbished the idea of killing off Cillian\'s alter ego, as he joked: "Dead? Never - he\'s immortal."

Although a prequel could happen one day, the writer admitted it would pose some problems.

He explained: "The problem with prequel is you\'re limiting yourself as to where it can go.

"You can\'t kill a character who can show up in the series."