Stephen Graham on wife, kids and why he couldn't get a job after This is England
Actor Stephen Graham shares lessons about raising his children and struggling to get a job, despite being labelled as one of the 'greatest British actors of all time'
Stephen Graham has opened up on his relationship with his wife and children and how, despite being labelled by fans as the 'greatest British actors of all time', he struggled to get another acting job after This Is England.
Stephen recently made history for writing his highly praised four-part drama, Adolescence, about a teenage boy who murders a female classmate.
The show not only had the best opening fortnight in Netflix history, but it also sparked a widespread discussion on the issue of young boys and violence, even leading to a discussion in Parliament by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Stephen shared a rare insight into his relationship with his wife Hannah Walters in an interview with GQ, revealing that she reads scripts first for him because he is dyslexic, stating they have a 'great little partnership'.
The actor added: 'She's me best mate for one,' adding: 'She's funny as f***. I find her dead saucy. She's amazing. She's the light of my life. Do you know what I mean? We're a great little partnership. It really works.'
Stephen also shared some advice that he swears by when raising children, which he said stems from not having the 'drive to be famous'.
Stephen explained: 'I remember Alfie, when he was young, asking me to go and kick a ball about or whatever. And me going, 'I can't, just give me half an hour. I'm doing this.'
"And as he turned and walked away, I kind of stopped and I looked and I seen his back [slumped], And I thought, Oh sh*t, wait a minute. I can do this any time. That mightn't happen again. So what I would say is: always make time. No matter how busy you are, make time, because that opportunity may never come back again."
While Stephen is an undeniably incredible actor, he discussed a time after filming This Is England when a casting director revealed that couldn't see him playing different roles.
Stephen found himself without work for eight months and said: 'Couldn't get a job. Couldn't get a job, I was going to pack it in. I was going to stop. It's not like I carry it like a rock on my back,' [he says, but if there was an acting job, 'and you put Tommy from Snatch next to Combo from This Is England, you might think, Oh, have a look at this fella. He's quite good. He's versatile. But for some reason it didn't go that way.'
Stephen has since played iconic roles in hard-hitting crime drama Boardwalk Empire, comedy series Code 404, 2018 drama Save Me / Save Me Too and 2025 series A Thousand Blows.
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