What role did Shogun star Cosmo Jarvis play in Peaky Blinders? Explored

Harrison Cosmo Krikoryan Jarvis is a British actor and singer. In 2020, Cosmo Jarvis appeared as a guest star in the fifth season of Peaky Blinders as Barney, a friend of Thomas Shelby from the war.

Jarvis's tenure on Peaky Blinders was short-lived, but his role in the show was memorable. Jarvis' story as Barney revolves around tragedy, an ex-comrade who has been suffering from PTSD at a time when there was no medical help available.

Peaky Blinders' fifth season, which ran on BBC One from August 25 to September 22, 2019, was made available on Netflix after airing on live TV. Additionally, it was the first time that BBC One, rather than BBC Two, aired the series.

Note: This article contains spoilers for the show. Reader's discretion is advised.

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Who was Cosmo Jarvis in Peaky Blinders?

Cosmo Jarvis plays Barney Thomson (Image via Instagram @peakyblindersofficial)

In season 5 of Peaky Blinders, Tommy Shelby visits an old friend who was his comrade while serving in the war. The friend he is visiting is Barney Thompson, a skilled sniper known for never missing his targets.

The epic mob thriller Peaky Blinders takes place in Birmingham in the years between the two world wars. In the fifth season, Cillian Murphy's Tommy Shelby teams up with Oswald Mosley (Sam Claflin), one of his adversaries, and The Billy Boys, a Glasgow gang.

Tommy planned to kill Mosley at the climax with the aid of Barney Thompson (Cosmo Jarvis). Tommy loves to keep his friends close and his enemies near.

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How are the Peaky Blinders fans introduced to Cosmo Jarvis in the show?

Tommy Shelby visits a mental asylum to meet Barney. Before Tommy goes inside, the doctor warns him to beware of Barney's violent nature, calling him an animal. Cosmo Jarvis, as Barney, shares a close bond with Tommy and Arthur (Paul Anderson).

Thompson was an excellent sniper who saw action in World War I. He was known never to miss a shot. It's not surprising he had some mental health problems, given his knack for killing people. He was placed in an asylum following the war for an unidentified offense. He was declared mad and battled severe PTSD, which was not well known at the time.

Tommy utilized Barney as part of his plan to depose Mosley after breaking the former out of the asylum. Tommy had come up with a scheme for Barney to kill Mosley while he was giving a speech at Birmingham's Bingley Hall. But things turned out differently than planned.

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How did Cosmo Jarvis' character die?

All parties found living challenging due to Cosmo Jarvis’s character Thompson's illness. Thompson occasionally heard voices that weren't there and was prone to manic outbursts. Tommy Shelby was the only person who could ever soothe him when his symptoms were at their worst.

Throughout the war, Shelby was Thompson's supervisor. Because of the latter's deep regard for the former, Shelby was able to communicate with Thompson even when he was experiencing mental distress.

The driving force behind Oswald Mosley's assassination attempt as the leader of the British Union of Fascists was Thompson. Winston Churchill gave Shelby the mission to kill Mosley in reaction to his increasing influence so that he and his supporters couldn't make any significant political progress.

Shelby drives Thompson to Bingley Hall to snipe Mosley during a rally. Before Thompson can draw the trigger, he is shot at point-blank range with a silenced handgun only seconds before ascending into the lightning balcony to take the shot. It seems that Mosley realized the scheme, rendering Thompson once more a victim of schemes bigger than himself.

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The plot of season 5 of Peaky Blinders

In season 5, the 1929 financial meltdown throws the world into disarray. Opportunities and lousy luck are everywhere. Thomas Shelby, currently an MP, realizes that his reaction will impact not just his family's future but also the destiny of the entire country when a dynamic politician approaches him with an audacious plan for Britain.

Cillian Murphy, Paul Anderson, and Joe Cole (Image via IMDb)

The show's creator, Steven Knight, disclosed that the show's fifth-season opponents were members of Glasgow's famed gangs, stating that a particular gang called The Billy Boys will pose a fresh threat to Birmingham's Peaky Blinders.