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The Independent
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Adolescence's Stephen Graham reveals he paid for production team's rent while they filmed the series
Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Stephen Graham has revealed that his and his wife Hannah Walter's company, Matriarch Productions, paid for the Adolescence team's rent while they filmed the hit Netflix series in Yorkshire. The four-part drama traces the disturbing journey of 13-year-old Jamie Miller, whose exposure to misogynistic online communities may have contributed to him killing a female classmate. Adolescence became an instant success and the centre of a national conversation on incel culture, misogyny and the online 'manosphere'. As discussed in Parliament, there were even calls for the programme to become mandatory viewing in schools. Graham and Walters wanted to create opportunities for people from similar backgrounds to theirs while making the show. Working class representation in the film and TV industry has plummeted to the lowest level in a decade, to only eight per cent of the workforce. Speaking to GQ, Graham said: 'I'm not saying this to pat myself on the back…[We] paid to put people up, because they wouldn't have been able to afford it. 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.' The This Is England star, 51, who describes himself as a 'mixed-race working-class kid from a block of flats', was born in Kirkby, six miles outside of Liverpool, and was raised by his mother, Marie, a social worker. According to research conducted by the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre at the University of Sheffield in 2024, the vast majority of people working in the film and TV industry are from middle or upper-class backgrounds. Owen Cooper and Stephen Graham in 'Adolescence' ( Netflix ) Back in 2016, The Danish Girl actor Eddie Redmayne admitted to occasionally paying the rent for struggling actors due to the inaccessibility of accommodation. He explained: 'The greatest privilege that I had was that my parents lived in London. So when I was out of university and out of work for a year, working in a pub, I didn't pay rent and I get letters from people trying to go to drama school and needing to pay their rent. And so that's something I occasionally do. It's impossibly expensive to live in London.'
Leader Live
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Leader Live
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. '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. A post shared by British GQ (@britishgq) '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.
North Wales Chronicle
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- North Wales Chronicle
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. '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. A post shared by British GQ (@britishgq) '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.
South Wales Guardian
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South Wales Guardian
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. '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. A post shared by British GQ (@britishgq) '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.
South Wales Argus
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South Wales Argus
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.
