Stephen Graham’s Toughest Career Setback After Breakout Fame

Stephen Graham has been everywhere this year, with his latest project Adolescence smashing records and becoming Netflix’s second most-watched show ever. It’s a bit wild, considering the series is set in everyday British spots like garden centres and high schools—hardly the stuff you’d expect to take the world by storm. But sometimes, the right mix of talent and timing just clicks. Graham’s knack for pulling off single-take TV, which he first tried with Boiling Point, paired with Owen Cooper’s gripping turn as a teen accused of murder, made Adolescence a must-watch for punters everywhere.

Despite his recent global recognition, Graham’s journey hasn’t always been smooth sailing. He’s spent two decades building a solid reputation, working with big names like Martin Scorsese and popping up in Guy Ritchie’s Snatch back in 2000. But it wasn’t until Adolescence that many finally took notice of the full scope of his work. This year, he picked up a trio of Emmy awards for the show, adding to a long list of nominations stretching back to his breakout in Shane Meadows’ This Is England in 2006. That film, which dived into ‘80s skinhead culture, was a hit at the box office and led to three spin-off series.

Early Success and Unexpected Struggles

Even with all the buzz from This Is England, Graham found himself in a tough spot. He recently told Square Mile,

“From me being given that opportunity by Shane to do that role in This Is England. I couldn’t get a job after that for about eight to nine months. Once that was released, I just could not get a job. It was impossible.”

It’s a bit of a shock, given how well the film did, but the phone just didn’t ring for nearly a year.

Luckily, Graham’s earlier gigs in the early 2000s, like his role in Gangs of New York, meant he wasn’t out of the game for long. By 2009, he was back in the thick of it, landing a part in Public Enemies with Johnny Depp and then scoring a spot on Boardwalk Empire, which earned him back-to-back Screen Actor’s Guild awards. Since then, he’s kept busy, mixing up film and telly roles, from Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides to Line of Duty, and reuniting with Scorsese for The Irishman alongside De Niro and Pacino.

Recent Projects and What’s Next

This year alone, Graham’s been in the Springsteen biopic Deliver Me From Nowhere and wrapped filming on the much-anticipated Peaky Blinders film with Cillian Murphy. His period boxing drama A Thousand Blows, made for Disney, is also set to return for a second season in January. It’s been a massive run, but it’s clear that even for someone as talented as Graham, the road to steady work hasn’t always been straightforward.