Stephen Graham

Early life

Graham was born in Kirkby, Lancashire, He was brought up by his mother, a social worker, and his stepfather, a mechanic who later became a paediatric nurse. He maintained a good relationship with his biological father. He has a Swedish grandmother and Jamaican grandfather, both on his biological father's side, and has discussed his experience being a light-skinned multiracial person, as he has brothers who have much darker skin.

He attended Overdale Primary School in Kirkby, where he was encouraged to pursue an acting career at the age of eight by local actor Andrew Schofield, who had seen him perform as Jim Hawkins in a school production of Treasure Island. He then continued his education at Ruffwood School and was subsequently introduced to Liverpool's Everyman Theatre at the age of 14, later going on to train at the Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance.

Career

Graham began his career in 1990, with early notable roles including Tommy in Snatch (2000), Myron "Mike" Ranney in Band of Brothers (2001), and Shang in Gangs of New York (2002), before his breakout role as Andrew "Combo" Gascoigne in the film This Is England (2006), the last of which garnered a nomination for a British Independent Film Award. He reprised his role as Combo on television in This Is England '86 (2010), This Is England '88 (2011), and This Is England '90 (2015). He also starred as Det. Supt. Dave Kelly in the 2017 drama Little Boy Blue, John Corbett in the fifth series of Line of Duty (2019), Al Capone in the HBO series Boardwalk Empire (2010–2014), Eric McNally in the BBC drama Time (2021), and Hayden Stagg in the sixth series of Peaky Blinders (2022).

He appeared as the Scrum in the 2011 film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, a role he reprised in the 2017 film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, starring alongside his wife Hannah Walters. Other film roles include Anthony Provenzano in The Irishman (2019) and Patrick Mulligan in Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) and its sequel Venom: The Last Dance (2024).

Graham has often portrayed characters from different parts of Britain, Ireland, and America, receiving praise for his accent work.{{cite web| last= Kermode| first=Jennie | date= 23 February 2007| url= https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/feature/2007-02-23-stephen-graham-interview-about-this-is-england-feature-story-by-jennie-kermode| title= Racism and rights of passage: Actor Stephen Graham discusses his role in this year's most talked-about British film, This Is England| website= EyeForFilm.co.uk| publisher=| accessdate= }}

He appeared in the music videos for "I Remember" by Deadmau5 and Kaskade, "Fluorescent Adolescent" and "When the Sun Goes Down" by Arctic Monkeys, "Unlovable" by Babybird (directed by Johnny Depp), and Gazelle's single "Finger on the Trigger". Graham appeared in the music video "Soul Vampire" by Macclesfield-based neo-psychedelic band the Virginmarys, the music video for "Turn" by Travis, and Kasabian's video "You're in Love with a Psycho". He appeared as an inmate within the open prison system in the music video for Goldie's "I Adore You" in 2017, and also starred in Sam Fender's music video for "Spit of You", in which he plays Fender's father.

In 2011, Graham starred in the BBC Christmas show Lapland. When the series was remade as Being Eileen, Graham's role was recast with Dean Andrews. He also appeared in "CODnapped", a promotional video for a DLC of the video game Call of Duty: Ghosts.

In 2019, Graham featured as DS John Corbett in series 5 of the BBC drama Line of Duty.{{Cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/line-of-duty-series-5-cast-stephen-graham-balaclava-man/| title = Line of Duty series 5 casts actor Stephen Graham – but what could his role be? | website= Radio Times| date=| publisher=| accessdate= }} In November of that year, Graham was the guest for BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. In January 2020, he appeared in the ITV series White House Farm as Welsh detective "Taff" Jones. Despite his reputation for his ability to adopt different accents, a number of critics criticised his performance and stated that his Welsh accent was inauthentic.

In 2021, he starred alongside his wife Hannah Walters in the film Boiling Point, directed by his Band of Brothers co-star Philip Barantini. A one-shot film set in a restaurant kitchen, the film was expanded from a 2019 short film of the same name. In October 2022, it was announced that Graham would reprise his role in a BBC One series airing in 2023 as a sequel to the film, also named Boiling Point.

Graham was nominated for an RTS Award for his work in The Street, and for a British Independent Film Award for his work in This Is England. He has received nominations for five British Academy Television Awards and two British Academy Film Awards. He was made an OBE in 2023.

In 2025, he created, co-wrote and executive produced the miniseries Adolescence on Netflix, in which he also appeared. The series was widely praised by critics and he won all of three nominations at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards for it.

Graham also appeared in the British historical drama series A Thousand Blows.

Production company

In 2020 he co-founded the production company Matriarch Productions with his wife, Hannah Walters. In 2026, Disney+ signed a first look deal with the company.

Recognition

Graham was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to drama, which he dedicated to his mother, who died in 2022.

Personal life

Graham began dating actress and producer Hannah Walters after they met while training as actors at Rose Bruford College, and they later married in 2008. They reside in Ibstock, having previously lived in the Beckenham area of London. They have a son and a daughter together.

Graham is teetotal and suffers from dyslexia, explaining in 2019 that Walters reads scripts for him and helps him decide whether to accept a role. He has struggled with depression, revealing that he once tried to hang himself in his early 20s, but survived because the rope snapped.

Graham is a lifelong supporter of Liverpool FC and has made several appearances on Sky Sports's Soccer AM. In December 2024, he faced an FA investigation after verbally abusing a referee at a non-league football match.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

Notes

References

1. (3 August 1973). "Stephen Graham".
2. "Stephen Graham Films and Shows".
3. Armstrong, Stephen. (26 October 2019). "Stephen Graham interview: The teetotal actor on playing an alcoholic in The Virtues, his failed suicide bid, and playing a mobster in Scorsese's epic The Irishman".
4. Barkham, Patrick. (2009-06-30). "Gizza job, CBeebies". [[The Guardian]].
5. Cline, Rich. (2007-04-22). "Shane Meadows discusses his most personal film to date, which is saying something". Shadows on the Wall.
6. Manning, Jonathon. (2023-09-29). "BBC's Graham Norton Show: Stephen Graham's life - racist abuse, famous wife and dyslexia struggle". Manchester Evening News.
7. Simpson, Richard. (5 June 2021). "Line Of Duty's Stephen Graham stars with wife in BBC show and it's 'brilliant'".
8. Cook, Sam. (29 September 2023). "Stephen Graham's fairytale romance with wife Hannah".
9. (16 August 2016). "Pirates of the Caribbean star on how he's overcome dyslexia".
10. McAlpine, Fraser. (2009-05-10). "Deadmau5 & Kaskade - 'I Remember'". [[BBC]].
11. Skinner, Tom. (6 October 2021). "Sam Fender shares poignant 'Spit Of You' video starring Stephen Graham". NME.
12. Anderson, Katie. (27 January 2022). "Sam Fender says 'bromance' with Stephen Graham has helped his imposter syndrome".
13. Munn, Patrick. (2012-09-13). "BBC One Orders Follow Up To Christmas Comedy 'Lapland', Stephen Graham's Role Recast". TVWise.co.uk.
14. "Being Eileen". [[BBC]].
15. (6 May 2019). "Line of Duty's Stephen Graham: 'My throat-slitting was superb. I'm good at dying'".
16. (22 April 2019). "Who is Stephen Graham playing in Line of Duty season 5?".
17. "Stephen Graham, actor". [[BBC Online]].
18. Hitt, Carolyn. (2020-01-11). "We need authentic Welsh voices — not English actors mangling our accents".
19. Boyce, Laurence. (23 August 2021). "Karlovy Vary 2021: Philip Barantini talks filming 'Boiling Point' in one take". Screen Daily.
20. Aftab, Kaleem. (31 August 2021). "Philip Barantini, Director of ''Boiling Point''". Cineuropa.
21. Williams, Owen. (21 October 2022). "Boiling Point TV Series Starring Stephen Graham Confirmed For BBC".
22. "Boiling Point review: Stephen Graham takes a backseat in this stellar slice of TV".
23. Youngs, Ian. (17 March 2025). "Adolescence: Netflix drama hailed as 'flawless' TV". BBC News.
24. (15 September 2025). "Adolescence star Owen Cooper makes Emmys history as youngest ever male winner".
25. Faith-Kelley, Killian. (21 February 2025). "The true story of A Thousand Blows' boxing behemoth Sugar Goodson". GQ.
26. Mangan, Lucy. (21 February 2025). "A Thousand Blows review – the irresistible new boxing drama from the Peaky Blinders creator". The Guardian.
27. Lobb, Adrian. (21 February 2025). "Stephen Graham and Steven Knight on class, boxing and new drama A Thousand Blows".
28. "Home". Matriarch Productions.
29. Georgie. (2026-01-14). "Disney+ Inks UK First-Look Deal with Stephen Graham and Hannah Walters’ Award-Winning Matriarch Productions".
30. {{London Gazette. (31 December 2022)
31. Kataria, Sonia. (30 December 2022). "New Year Honours 2023: Actor Stephen Graham appointed OBE".
32. McLaughlin, Caroline. (31 December 2022). "Stephen Graham says he shares OBE with 'incredible' late mother".
33. (2018-02-20). "Meet Stephen Graham, the Hollywood star who lives in a Leicestershire village". [[Leicester Mercury]].
34. (2015). "Soccer AM - Stephen Graham". [[Sky Sports]].
35. (2024-12-19). "Stephen Graham 'faces FA investigation' for branding referee 'a f**king Teletubby' in vicious rant at non-league game". [[Evening Standard]].
36. "First look at Sean Bean and Stephen Graham in Time as Siobhan Finneran joins cast".
37. (26 November 2020). "Stephen Graham and Jodie Comer to star in new Channel 4 drama Help".
38. (22 August 2021). "Jodie Comer and Stephen Graham on friendship, football and their new care home drama".
39. "TV commissions true story, The Walk-In, starring Stephen Graham".
40. "BAFTA Awards Search | BAFTA Awards".
41. "International Film Festival of Wales {{!}} 2018".
42. Hooton, Kayleigh. (2022-05-08). "BAFTA TV Awards 2022 winners in full".
43. (25 March 2022). "Best actor award for Stephen Graham after TWO nominations".
44. (23 September 2022). "SDA 2022 winners".
45. Merican, Sara. (2025-08-06). "Hirokazu Kore-eda, Cate Blanchett, Minha Kim & Owen Cooper Among Seoul International Drama Awards Nominees".
46. Atkinson, Katie. (2026-01-12). "Here Are the 2026 Golden Globes Winners: Full List (Updating Live)".