Sam Neill’s Major Campbell in Peaky Blinders is Netflix’s Best Villain

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Sam Neill is famous for films like Jurassic Park, In the Mouth of Madness, and Event Horizon, but he’s also had a successful television career. He particularly stood out in a role for a British crime series on Netflix. The show has become a classic in its genre, and during the first two seasons, Neill played a truly despicable and complicated villain.

Sam Neill portrays Major Campbell, a British government agent working directly for Winston Churchill. He’s tasked with tackling widespread crime and corruption, focusing on a dangerous gun theft from a factory – weapons that could threaten the entire country. Campbell immediately clashes with the Peaky Blinders, and especially with their leader, Tommy Shelby. Though he initially seemed motivated by good intentions, Campbell ultimately becomes one of the most memorable villains in the Netflix series.

Major Campbell Didn’t Start Off All Bad in Peaky Blinders

Sam Neill has starred in many different kinds of movies, from monster films and science fiction to straight-up horror. However, his role in Peaky Blinders is considered one of his best, thanks to both his acting and the character’s development. While Major Campbell doesn’t begin as a villain, he ultimately becomes truly awful.

Campbell arrived in Birmingham on a mission for the King. Someone stole machine guns and ammunition, and the government needs to prevent them from reaching groups like the IRA or anyone else who opposes them. Although Campbell’s work goes against the interests of a certain party, it’s not necessarily a malicious undertaking.

From the start of the series, clues suggest Campbell will eventually fall from grace. His troubled history in Ireland is repeatedly mentioned, and several characters imply he committed violent acts while opposing the IRA. It becomes clear he traveled to England intending to employ those same ruthless methods to recover the weapons.

As a huge fan of the show, I’ve really noticed how Campbell’s frustration builds with every setback. Each time the Shelbys are one step ahead, he just gets angrier and more unhinged. It’s fascinating – and terrifying – to watch him spiral. He starts making increasingly reckless decisions, driven by a desperate need to save face and, ultimately, to take down Tommy Shelby, the man who embodies everything he despises.

Neill delivers a flawless performance, skillfully portraying both the character’s rage and desire for revenge, while also making audiences believe he genuinely sees himself as a hero. This transformation is largely explored in the first season and becomes even more pronounced in the second. It’s chilling to watch Neill manipulate Tommy throughout Season 2, and to see his admiration for Grace twist into something unsettling and obsessive.

It’s striking to see Neill play such a realistic and troubled character. While he’s played villains before, his performance in Peaky Blinders feels incredibly authentic, making the darkness of the role even more disturbing and emotionally impactful.

As a critic, I’ve always appreciated Peaky Blinders for its bleak realism. What really struck me is how the show demonstrates that even with the best of intentions – whether you’re on the side of the law or breaking it – things inevitably spiral out of control. The character of Campbell is a prime example. Watching his descent, brilliantly portrayed by Neill, is captivating. He starts as someone you might almost root for, and then slowly, tragically, becomes the very thing he despises. It’s that transformation – so well-executed – that truly makes him a standout character and stays with you long after the credits roll.

Peaky Blinders Turns Campbell Into Everything He Hates

From the beginning, Major Campbell shows a flexible sense of right and wrong, even questioning the value of keeping promises. However, his actions quickly become much more serious than just breaking his word. He commits murder, gives in to the very behaviors he claimed to oppose, and actively contributes to the widespread corruption around him.

Campbell’s corruption stems partly from his relationship with Tommy. They have a manipulative dynamic – Tommy controls Campbell in the first season, and Campbell reverses that control in the second. However, Tommy’s continued ability to outsmart Campbell deeply frustrates and unsettles him, making Campbell increasingly erratic. It also bothers Campbell that he , a weakness others often ridicule.

Campbell’s obsession with ruining Tommy Shelby drives him to extreme measures. He unleashes violence on the streets, manipulates situations to personally arrest or kill Shelby and his associates, and brutally mistreats anyone he captures. He shows no regard for human life, torturing and even killing people as he relentlessly pursues his goal of destroying Tommy Shelby, becoming increasingly cold and ruthless.

Perhaps his most damaging action is how he treated Grace. He assigned her to infiltrate Tommy’s pub, the Garrison, tasking her with spying on Tommy and reporting back to Campbell. However, Grace fell in love with Tommy and quit being a spy, which Campbell saw as a betrayal directed personally at him.

Campbell becomes fixated on Grace, and the show subtly reveals his thoughts through his actions and looks. When his proposal to Grace is turned down by Tommy, he completely falls apart. He manipulates things to stay in Birmingham, constantly targeting Tommy. He betrays Grace’s trust, and driven by his feelings of betrayal, he even attempts to kill her.

Campbell completely loses his moral compass, becoming as corrupt as the criminals he’s supposed to be chasing – arguably even more so. While the Shelbys commit crimes for profit, Campbell’s actions stem from something far more sinister.

Campbell is totally consumed by his objectives. He alienates any potential allies within the police and ruthlessly eliminates anyone who opposes him. He’s as much a villain and criminal as Tommy Shelby, and his downfall in Season 2 felt entirely justified.

Major Campbell Always Had a Darkness in Him

The reality is Campbell wasn’t the hero he believed himself to be; he was fundamentally a villain. Though it’s never explicitly shown, it’s evident he treated people cruelly, particularly in Ireland, and was ruthless in his dealings. He was always a bleak and unpleasant man, but it was Tommy Shelby who truly revealed his dark side.

Tommy has a strange ability to reveal the flaws in others. As he does this, he seems to become more negative himself. Campbell is just the first person to fall victim to Tommy’s influence, becoming his own worst self and ironically making Tommy appear comparatively innocent.

Although Tommy is the main character, he’s far from a traditional hero, and the show makes that clear. Instead of simply presenting villains, the series uses characters like Campbell to reveal different sides of Tommy’s personality. While the Nazis Tommy faces later are undeniably evil, Campbell first demonstrates the capacity for cruelty and corruption even within seemingly ‘good’ people. He essentially sets the pattern for many of the other antagonists, making him a particularly important figure in the show.

Campbell represents the worst kind of corruption, the kind that consumes those in power. He’s gone from being an officer who was simply angry at injustice to a cold-blooded killer and a corrupt policeman. He should be behind bars with the criminals he’s locked up, but his employment by the government protects him.

It’s fitting that Polly kills Campbell in Season 2, considering Tommy previously ridiculed him for being shot by a woman, Grace, in Season 1. Tommy’s taunting only fueled Campbell’s anger, making his ultimate demise at Polly’s hands feel both poetic and just. It’s a well-earned ending for such a nasty and unpleasant character. Sam Neill delivers a truly memorable performance as Major Campbell, creating one of Netflix’s most compelling and despicable villains.

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2026-01-18 00:38