As filming officially gets underway for series four of the perennially popular BBC show ‘Peaky Blinders’, details are slowly coming in about storylines and new characters – with the biggest news being that Oscar-winning actor Adrien Brody has joined the cast.

The 43 year old American actor, who scooped an Academy Award for his role in The Pianist in 2002, the youngest actor ever to win the Best Actor Oscar, is to play an as-yet-unspecified role in the BBC’s period drama.

Adrien BrodyAdrien Brody has reportedly joined the cast of 'Peaky Blinders' for series 4

The show’s creator Steven Knight teased Brody’s potential appearance with the statement: “He genuinely was the actor in my head when I wrote the part. I’m sure he will be a formidable presence in the world of the Peaky Blinders.”

Furthermore, in terms of storylines (and potential plot spoilers), the new series will apparently begin with Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy’s character) receiving a threatening letter that places the gang in potential mortal danger, and he returns to Birmingham.

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Murphy, of course, returns alongside stalwart cast members Helen McCrory, Paul Anderson, Joe Cole and Sophie Rundle. Hollywood star Tom Hardy has also been spotted on the series’ set in Liverpool, reprising his character of baker Alfie Solomons, according to The Independent.

The fourth series of ‘Peaky Blinders’ is expected to hit TV screens in October this year, with a fifth series for 2018 also in the pipeline after the BBC renewed the show last summer. Furthermore, reports have also suggested that a film could be in the works.

Knight has said that the upcoming series is likely to be set in 1926, and will be set against the backdrop of the General Strike.

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