Barry Keoghan and a ‘little known gem’: Kelmarsh Tunnel’s quiet turn in Peaky Blinders

Barry Keoghan appears in this headline as a prompt, but the story that follows stays with a place: Kelmarsh Tunnel, a 480m unlit stretch of disused railway in Northamptonshire used as a filming location for the new Peaky Blinders film The Immortal Man. The tunnel’s remoteness and brick-lined enclosure made it a practical treasure for director Tom Harper and his crew.

What did the Kelmarsh Tunnel scene look like?

The tunnel is described as a 480m (1, 575ft) long unlit structure on the former Northampton to Market Harborough line. Tom Harper, director of The Immortal Man, called the brick structure “one of those treasures that you sometimes find when you’re filming. ” He said the enclosed nature of the location meant the production was able to film with not many members of the public about, a logistical benefit when recreating wartime Birmingham for the film.

How does this single location reflect the wider production choices?

Filming for The Immortal Man was not confined to one region; Harper noted that the project filmed across Birmingham and parts of Northamptonshire. The production’s larger budget opened the door to travel to “all these incredible places and find all these little known gems, ” he said. That choice fits the film’s ambition: the story follows Cillian Murphy reprising his role as Tommy Shelby, depicted returning to Birmingham during World War Two, and the makers sought settings that could carry the period weight and scale of that narrative.

Barry Keoghan and the attention on filming locations

The inclusion of the name Barry Keoghan in the title above does not reflect any detail supplied about casting or involvement in the materials released about the location. What the published details do make clear is that the production deliberately sought out remote and visually distinct sites like Kelmarsh Tunnel to serve the film’s atmosphere. Creator Stephen Knight emphasized a return to familiar terrain, saying “this time I thought it was really important to come home. ” That sentiment framed the production’s choice to shoot in and around Birmingham while also reaching into neighbouring counties.

What are the practical outcomes and next steps?

Practical decisions shaped by location informed how the film will reach audiences. The Immortal Man will be shown in selected cinemas before it becomes available to stream from 20 March. Harper’s remarks about the tunnel — its beauty and its utility for contained shooting — underline a production strategy that balanced ambition with controlled logistics, allowing for large-scale scenes while limiting public disruption at isolated sites.

Back in the tunnel, the brick vaults and the long, unlit run of Kelmarsh feel less like a backdrop and more like a character in a story about a city under strain. The choice to film there, Harper said, was part aesthetic and part practical: “It’s very, very beautiful in all sorts of ways, it’s one of those treasures that you sometimes find when you’re filming. ” As audiences prepare to see Cillian Murphy return to Tommy Shelby on the screen, that little known gem in Northamptonshire will carry a new, if quiet, fame — and the curiosity it stirs will linger even after the lights go up on the premiere.