Stephen Graham says he is being stopped on the street to talk about Adolescence
The four-part series which explores misogyny among teenage boys has prompted a national conversation about online safety.
This Is England star Graham, 51, who co-created the drama with Jack Thorne, plays Eddie Miller, who watches armed police burst into his home to arrest his 13-year-old son Jamie, played by newcomer Owen Cooper.
Speaking to British GQ, he said: 'The other day we were in New York and this woman came up to me.
Stephen Graham and Hannah Walters arriving for the special screening of Adolescence at Bafta in central London (Ian West/PA)
'She was about 75. I'm talking Fifth Avenue wealthy, in a beautiful cashmere hoodie and a Moncler gilet so expensive that it doesn't even have the badge on, you know what I mean?
'She looked at me and, I swear to God, her eyes welled up. She said, 'I just want to give you a hug'. And her husband went, 'Can I shake your hand? We have sons and we have grandchildren'.'
He continued: 'Then we've gone back to the hotel where I'm staying and some fella's pushing a bin round the corner. And he's looked up and he's gone, 'Oh my God. Your programme, man, I just want to say I think it's fantastic. We watched it, the whole family'.
'And then he went about his business. And I just thought, 'Wow, if I'm in New York, and we've reached this cross-section of people, then shit – this thing really has exploded, hasn't it?''
He added: 'I hoped it (the show) would create conversation.
'The amount of stuff me and (his wife) Hannah (Walters) are getting sent, and the amount of people I'm seeing on the streets who were saying that has happened between them and their children, is huge.
'To me, that's objective complete. We've done our bit. Now you go and crack on.'
He also told the publication that his and Walters' production company, Matriarch Productions, 'paid to put people up' on the production team 'because they wouldn't have been able to afford it'.
He said: 'By going, 'Look, we know how much you want it, we'll cover the rent' – that gives that person the opportunity to save money, and then on the next job, they can pay the rent.'
In March, creators Thorne and Graham spoke to Sir Keir Starmer at Downing Street about the issues raised in the drama.
The series took months of preparation and rehearsals so that each episode could be filmed in one continuous shot, which was praised by viewers of the show.
Graham will be speaking at the GQ heroes conference, taking place at Soho Farmhouse, Oxfordshire, from July 2 to 4.
The heroes issue of British GQ is available via digital download and on news-stands on June 10.
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