Who Is Uncle Jack On Peaky Blinders? (& Was He A Real Person)
Season 6 of Peaky Blinders has been released, and it didn’t take time for it to take the television world by storm. Of course, like a lot of different shows that are on the earlier portions of their seasons, Peaky Blinders season 6 has raised a lot of questions that some of us may be thinking about right now. One such question is related to Gina’s uncle, who seems to be a very powerful man. So, who is Gina’s Uncle Jack on Peaky Blinders?
Uncle Jack is a wealthy Irish-American businessman based in Boston in the US. It is implied that Uncle Jack is the head of Gina Gray’s family back in America and is one of the most successful businessmen that rose from the criminal underworld. He is most likely going to appear in the UK in episode 2.
One of the things that Peaky Blinders is known for is that it is loosely based on historical events during the earlier part of the 20th century. As such, there is a belief that Uncle Jack is also based on a real person. Nevertheless, let’s get a good look at who Uncle Jack is and what we know about him so that we can tell whether or not he is based on a real person.
Who Is Gina’s Uncle Jack Nelson In ‘Peaky Blinders’ Season 6?
It isn’t a secret that a lot of the things about Peaky Blinders are based on historical events and persons from the early 20th century. In that regard, there are plenty of people who are wondering about certain characters that have appeared and are not exactly one-to-one copies of their historical counterparts. For instance, Tommy Shelby, the show’s main character, isn’t based on a real-life character.
That said, one of the most enigmatic characters on the series is Anya Taylor-Joy’s Gina Gray, who people aren’t exactly sure when it comes to her real identity. On top of that, there were plenty of different controversial things that she did ever since she made an appearance, as she was actually an assassin sent by a rival gang to kill Tommy. And when Michael Gray talked about Gina’s connections in the US, there were people who thought that she was also a gangster, just like most of the other main characters in the series.
However, Gina became even more mysterious in season 6 when it became clear that she wasn’t exactly a gangster. In the opener of season 6, one of the things that we learned was that Gina’s family is indeed connected to powerful people but not those who are in the criminal underground.
That’s when we heard more about Jack Nelson, the unseen head of Gina’s family back in America. Called Uncle Jack, it seems like this man is someone who is quite powerful to the point that he may actually make an impact in the series. So, who is Uncle Jack on Peaky Blinders?
Uncle Jack is not only the head of Gina’s family but is also a wealthy businessman and politician who was able to rise from the criminal underground to become one of the most powerful men in America. He is an American of Irish descent and is considered to be the one who runs everything in the city of Boston. And that’s where Tommy’s Opium shipments come in, as it is quite possible that the business would have to run through Uncle Jack for the products to make their way to America.
The reason why we believe that Uncle Jack will have a profound effect on the series is that, at the end of the season 6 opener, we learned that Uncle Jack was about to board a ship to the UK so that he could do business there. He was accompanied by Gina, President Roosevelt’s son, his wife, and his mistress.
Was Uncle Jack Nelson A Real Person?
As mentioned, Peaky Blinders is sort of a historical drama because the Peaky Blinders was an actual gang that existed back in the day. So, with that said, does that mean that Uncle Jack Nelson is actually based on a real person?
Uncle Jack is actually purely fictional and is not a one-to-one portrayal of a certain historical figure. However, the truth is that he is actually based on a historical figure, despite the fact that he may not be an exact portrayal of that character.
At first, it would seem like Uncle Jack could just about be anyone in history. But we do know that there is a real figure who actually did business in the UK in 1933 to take advantage of the end of prohibition in the US. This man was Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., a man who was born in Boston and worked as a businessman and politician. Of course, he is also known as the father of US President John F. Kennedy. History suggests that Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. traveled to the UK in 1933 together with his wife and the son of a US president so that he could do business there.
Of course, Steven Knight, the creator of the show, actually confirmed that Uncle Jack is actually, in fact, based on Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and that there is a possibility that Gina herself is the Peaky Blinders version of a Kennedy. But, considering that Knight simply fictionalized the historical figures that are featured in Peaky Blinders, we don’t know how Jack and Gina being fictional versions of the Kennedys will play a role in the events of the series.
Then again, we can make assumptions. Back in 1933, when prohibition in the US ended, Kennedy went to the UK to allegedly talk business with Sir Winston Churchill, with who we know Shelby has had business relations ever since the first season of the series. And the fact that season 6 of Peaky Blinders introduced a new character named Diana Mitford (played by Amber Anderson), it becomes interesting how that comes into play, considering that Kennedy’s residence in London during his visits to the UK was quite close to the residence of the real-life Mitfords.
Who Plays Uncle Jack In Peaky Blinders?
As of now, Gina Gray’s Uncle Jack Nelson is actually a mysterious person that we haven’t seen onscreen. However, despite that, there are reports that suggest that there is already an actor that portrayed him in his appearances in Peak Blinders.
Reports suggest that Uncle Jack will be played by James Frecheville, who is 30 years old and is from Australia. His doesn’t fit Kennedy’s age during the 1930s, but let’s not forget that Uncle Jack is merely a copy of Joseph Kennedy and isn’t exactly the fictional character himself.
James Frecheville came to prominence as Joshua Cody in the 2010 movie Animal Kingdom, as he was portrayed as one of the youngest characters in the film. And the fact that he experienced playing a criminal in Animal Kingdom allows him to perform well enough as a former criminal underground leader in Peaky Blinders.