Tommy Flanagan has very recognizable scars on the two sides of his cheeks, which were a result of a knife attack at a nightclub where he once worked as a DJ.
Many people have wondered how the Scottish actor best known for his role as Filip “Chibs” Telford in the FX crime drama TV series Sons of Anarchy got the scars on his face and asked questions about whether he was born that way. These scars give him a unique look each time he appears on stage and consequently earn him more attention. Here are details of how it all happened.
How Did Tommy Flanagan Get His Scars?
While some people identify Tommy as the actor with a facial scar, others refer to him as the man with the Glasglow smile. Just at a glance at him, you will instantly recognize the scars. This has since become his signature look, yet, many are yet to know the actual cause of the scars. Even though the way he got his scars isn’t exactly an interesting story to tell, we will tell it regardless.
As a matter of fact, Tommy got his scars out of an accident. The story goes that on a certain day after he closed from work at a nightclub where he was working as a DJ, he was attacked by a gang of robbers on his way back home. Tommy put up a fight with the thugs when they tried to rob him, but given that they were too many for him to contend with, he certainly lost the fight.
The attacker stabbed him, slashed his face with a knife from one ear to the other, and left him with so many injuries that would later become the scars he bears today. After the incident, Tommy was taken to the hospital for treatment, but even though he eventually recovered, the injuries on his face scarred him for the rest of his life. It became his most recognizable feature.
The Scars Brought Him Some Sort of Humiliation
The year Tommy was attacked has not been revealed, but the scar became known as the Glaswegian Smile or the Glasgow Grin. The incident was one of the major reasons Tommy Flanagan quit his DJ work and took on acting following advice from his friend, Robert Carlyle.
Tommy suffered from public humiliation at the beginning after getting the scars. But, he was able to recover from it, and that revealed the kind of person he truly is and his persistence to push the boundaries in building a better career for himself. He has also proven that you do not need to have the most flawless look to be successful in Hollywood.
Since then, the Sons of Anarchy actor has never let his scars slow him down in his acting career. Rather, it turned out to be an advantage for him because he has leveraged them to play convincing tough-guy roles in some movies and TV series, including Sons of Anarchy.
In the series, Tommy played the role of Filip Telford and was nicknamed “Chibs,” a Scottish slang that means ‘knife.’
The Versatile American Actor Had a Rough Beginning
The attack that led to Tommy Flanagan’s scars has also been traced back to the hardship he faced while growing up. Tommy was singlehandedly raised by his mother, who struggled to make ends meet. His father abandoned his mother when he was only six years old. Thus, life became very difficult for them, and after his basic education, he began to work several jobs to help the family.
He first worked as a painter and then decorator before he got the DJ job. Tommy Flanagan’s early life is described as a perfect example of struggle, but today, he has achieved just a lot to compensate for all the hard times he experienced. Some of his most popular movies include Alien vs. Predator, Smokin’ Aces, Tullk Ul-Zyn, Sons of Anarchy, Peaky Blinders, Motive, and many others.
