By: Art Green
Photography: Greg Williams
Stephen Graham is the man of the moment: Indie films, Hollywood blockbusters, American dramas… and Moves Magazine saw it first! The man can do it all, currently starring in the so well-observed — but really disturbing — hit Netflix series, Adolescence, where he plays the father of a deeply troubled boy. (He co-wrote the series and serves as an executive producer.) Graham will also play Douglas Springsteen, Bruce Springsteen’s father in the much-anticipated biographical film, Deliver Me from Nowhere, about singer, songwriter, and guitarist Bruce Springsteen’s recording journey on his 1982 album, Nebraska. The film stars Jeremy Allen White (The Bear; Shameless) as Springsteen himself. Take a dive into Graham’s world in the profile below when we first met him before the release of Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman:
He’s familiar. So so familiar. Usually playing a bad ass in some action film. We first came across Stephen Graham’s work in Guy Ritchie’s Snatch, the crime comedy from 2000 (a film universally known for Brad Pritt’s unintelligible Irish accent). Graham played a dolt, Tommy, and people have been known to stop him on the street and say, “Do you got the minerals?” a cryptic line of his from the film that’s stuck.
He’s been perfecting the art of the so-called character actor ever since, appearing in such films as Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York; Sgt. Myron ‘Mike’ Ranney in HBO’s Band of Brothers; Taboo with Tom Hardy; Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy with Gary Oldman and the late John Hurt; as Scrum in the Johnny Depp-led Pirates of the Caribbean franchise; and Al Capone in Scorsese’s prohibition tome for HBO, Boardwalk Empire.
Graham has built a reputation for taking whatever role comes his way and well, perfecting it. See above. Perfecting it. Graham will next be seen in Line of Duty season five, making its U.S. premiere on Mondays on Acorn TV, North America’s largest streaming service for British and international television.
I catch Graham right after a day of filming a comedy, something he normally doesn’t do. But It’s a comedy (played straight with Danny Mays) about two police officers so even this unusual project has something of an underlying hard edge. He is also playing record producer Dick James in the summer release of the Elton John biopic, Rocketman, and has a role in the Scorsese film, The Irishman, a mob flick and one of the most anticipated films of the year. The star-studded cast includes Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel, Anna Paquin, Bobby Cannavale, and Ray Romano; Graham plays Genovese crime family Captain Tony Provenzano.
According to Graham, the standout role that cemented him as an actor was a film called This Is England and won Best Film at the British Independent Film Awards in 2006. It centered around a gang of skinheads showcasing raw topics and was a film that truly brought all his talents to the forefront.
“To me, that was the one where I learned about my craft and what it was to be an actor.”
Graham tends to get these very dark kinds of roles that he’s not afraid to dive into. “I have a really happy stable home and wife and I suppose for me personally it’s these kinds of characters that I play and I always like to bring some kind of humanity to them. Even if someone plays Al Capone. For me he was a sociopath. He was a brutal man you know, but I was trying to find trying to find in his life that he loved his son and he loved his wife. He was a family man. So when he was a psychopath surely I always try to look behind that little kid, that little crack, that little chink in the armor.”
Now, Line of Duty is on the platter and before joining the cast, Graham was a hooked fan of the BBC series. With the show making its U.S. debut on May 13, he plays the guest lead villain, John Corbett. “I’ve always been a fan of it from the very beginning and it’s a police drama, but it’s extremely tactical and it’s very true to life and it’s got an amazing audience here in England,” says Graham. “It’s modern day but brings back that kind of old police investigating and it’s just a really great experience to work on.”
He worked with LOD star Vicky McClure on This is England and considers her a very good friend. “They always have amazing guests on the show and it just so well written. Jed Mercurio, who also wrote Bodyguard [British television series], is a fantastic writer. It’s the way he writes, his tension.”
Graham jumped at the chance to work with Scorsese again on The Irishman and was like a giddy child seeing a real-life superhero.
“As a kid you watch films and you could only dream of working with somebody like Martin Scorsese; working with him was one of my wildest dreams. That’s not something you think is attainable,” enthuses Graham. “So he called me again when he was doing The Irishman and said he needed me to come over and meet Robert De Niro.
“To be given that opportunity to come over and to get to work with Robert De Niro and Al Pacino was mind-blowing in many ways. They really welcomed me onto the set and I liked to improvise and play about and they were all for that. I mean they’re just so involved in the creative process and want to make this scene the best that they could be and it was just a joy and an absolute dream.”
Downtime? Graham is a soccer, er, football fanatic. Liverpool’s his team. Even though they haven’t won it in 19 years, he’d like his son to see Liverpool win the Premier League.
“I love to watch as many matches as I can. My son plays football and I help coach his football team which is great. I get a little bit carried away occasionally on the sidelines but it’s great you know; that’s kind of how I spend time with my family when I’m not working. That’s where I switch off.”
He’s fond of our city, but is happy living in England. “I really love New York. I really love New York as a city. It’s very similar to Liverpool. I find that kind of vibe and find those kinds of people really friendly and really cosmopolitan and it’s just a really lovely city. I loved working there.”
“I have a little village that I live in England, very green, and we walk to school with the children. As an actor, you have no other life anyway. You go where the work is, where the good scripts are and the set. I’m sort of used to that now it doesn’t phase me.”
“It’s disconcerting a little bit being away from home for huge amounts of time, but this is the life I’ve chosen. And I’m very blessed and I’m very lucky to do what I want to do.”
“I get these moments where I pinch myself and I think wow this is the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do and fortunately, I know I’ve been blessed.”
“I’ve been given the opportunity to live my dreams.”
It’s a an indication of Graham’s acting chops that a man so obviously happy and content can give such life and realism to the dark characters he often plays. He totally commits every time. He is one of those actors who, when you see his name on the cast list, makes you want to watch the movie!