Tom Brittney admits he quit Grantchester at the worst time: ‘What have I done?’

Tom Brittney took quite the leap of faith when he quit Grantchester.

It was 2023, the ITV drama was still riding high after nine series, and Tom starred as clergyman Will Davenport – one half of an unlikely crime-solving duo alongside detective inspector Geordie Keating, played by Robson Green.

But if ever there was inspiration to fly the nest and see what Hollywood had to offer, it was his predecessor James Norton, who has become one of the most celebrated and in-demand actors of his generation.

Unlike James, though, the timing of Tom’s exit couldn’t have been worse.

‘I actually left, funny enough, at the time when the Hollywood strike happened,’ he tells Metro.

‘I left thinking I was going to go off to another job, and no one could work, so that really made a sad decision even sadder. I was just sat there unemployed for months and months, going, “What have I done?”‘

Jump to the summer of 2026, however, and Tom is starring in his biggest blockbuster role to date in The Westies, MGM+’s blistering new gangster series opposite Oscar winner JK Simmons.

Tom stars as Jimmy Roarke, the right-hand man to Simmons’ Eamon Sweeney, head of the Irish mob, The Westies – the notoriously violent real-life gang that terrorised New York’s Hell’s Kitchen from the 1960s onwards.

Naturally, it’s already being hailed as ‘Peaky Blinders across the pond’.

‘We’re a very different show,’ he says. ‘I think the only comparison is that we’re both based on real-life gangs.

‘The families themselves aren’t real; the Shelbys weren’t a real gang, and Sweeney wasn’t a real Westie, but the Westies were real. That’s a fair comparison between the two, but apart from that they’re very different gangster shows.’

The series is, however, grounded in historical fact. It follows the gang as they negotiate a partnership with the Italian crime family, the Gambinos, who were very real and very dangerous.

Throughout the first season, the gangs negotiate their partnership during the construction of the Javits Center, a real-life development that becomes central to the show’s plot.

It’s strange that such a prolific and brutal gang has largely gone under the radar, especially when organised crime has dominated popular culture on both the big and small screen for decades. The Westies, however, have been somewhat forgotten – until now.

‘I genuinely knew nothing about them,’ says Tom. ‘When I saw the audition come through and it was based on a real-life gang, I Googled everything about them, and I was completely blown away that no one had done anything about them before.’

The MGM+ series feels like a strange tribute to a group of men who were utterly ruthless – some of the most ferocious killers imaginable. Jimmy has the familiar charm shared by many gangster protagonists, making him so likeable that you almost forget how cut-throat and dangerous he is.

His relationship with Sweeney is tested time and again, and the shifting power dynamic between the pair is perhaps the show’s most compelling thread.

I wonder how Tom built that chemistry with Simmons, who has become synonymous with playing some of the most intimidating characters of the past 30 years.

‘He’s such a presence. He has this terrifying aura because we’ve seen him do some really scary roles, but he makes the set the most comfortable place to be and shows you how to lead. It was life imitating art — he’s the leader of the gang and the leader on set.

‘Also, he likes to wear comfortable shoes when the camera’s only on his face. He’s like, “When it comes to the bottom half, wear what you want.”

‘Before our first read-through, he texted me, which was such a surreal thing. It was like, “Hey, it’s JK Simmons here.” Then I met him, and he looked completely different.

‘He had this massive beard because he’d grown it for another role. He was just the warmest guy – “Hey, man, we’re going to have to play this very close relationship” – and he made me feel at ease almost immediately.’

As for what’s next, alongside hopes for a second season of The Westies, the quintessentially English actor is setting his sights a little closer to home.

‘There’s a certain martini-drinking character I’d love to play,’ he says, with a twinkle in his eye that suggests either wishful thinking or that he’s privy to information he’s not ready to share.

Clearly, he’s not been scorned after coming agonisingly close to landing the role of another iconic hero: Superman.

Tom made it down to the final three to play the Man of Steel, eventually losing out to David Corenswet – an experience he’s chosen to cherish rather than become bitter about.

‘You hope you’re competing at that level, and when it actually happens you can’t quite comprehend it. James Gunn is such a wonderful director; he makes what should be a terrifying experience so much fun,’ he says with genuine sincerity.

‘You’re there wearing a Superman costume, you’ve got 20 executive producers watching you, you’ve signed a contract that could potentially change your life in so many ways, and that can bring a lot of noise into your head. But he just made it fun. So I learned that if that happens again, just have fun.’

Should Amazon MGM Studios, the new custodians of all things 007, fail to call, he has another passion he’s desperate to explore.

‘I’d really like to be an investigative journalist,’ he says. ‘I’ve watched so many documentaries. I’m listening to Serial again at the moment – they’ve got a new one.

‘I’d love to do the Louis Theroux style of investigative journalism, travelling around

the world and meeting people.’

I remind him he wouldn’t be the first actor to take that route.

‘Maybe I could do a Ross Kemp!’

The Westies is available to stream on MGM+ from July 12.