My cousin won’t shut up about Stephen Graham. She watched Line of Duty series five three times just for his performance. “That twist at the end? Mate, I was screaming at the telly.” She’s got a point, though. Looking at Stephen Graham movies and TV shows, the bloke’s basically been in every decent British drama for the past 20 years and half the big American stuff too.
He’s one of those actors who you go, “Oh, he’s in it? Yeah, I’ll watch that.” It doesn’t matter if it’s a gritty police drama or a Marvel film. He’s just brilliant at everything.
Adolescence Won Him Three Emmys This Year
Stephen Graham movies and TV shows 2025 started with him cleaning up at the Emmys. His Netflix series, “Adolescence”, which he created and in which he starred, earned him three nominations for Outstanding Limited Series, Writing, and Lead Actor. Not bad for a Kirkby lad.
Adolescence is intense. Each episode plays out in one uninterrupted take, following a family after their 13-year-old son is arrested for killing a schoolgirl. Graham stars as Eddie Miller, the dad trying to work out what has gone wrong while being his son’s “appropriate adult” in police interviews.
The show is about toxic masculinity and how young lads become radicalised online. Heavy stuff, for sure, but Stephen Graham latest drama hit home in ways that felt like you were watching a true story. No melodrama, just a family being ripped apart.
Stephen Graham Movies and TV Shows Netflix Keeps Growing
Stephen Graham movies and TV shows Netflix became a proper thing after the success of Adolescence. Netflix is aware they’re onto a winner with him. He’s also in the Peaky Blinders movie later this year, as Hayden Stagg, once again from series six.
Graham is a co-founder of Matriarch Productions, along with his wife, Hannah Walters, founded in 2020. They fell in love at drama college, all those years ago. They have two kids and live in Leicestershire, just being normal despite him being famous.
The Roles That Made Everyone Notice
This Is England (2006) changed everything. Playing Combo, the racist skinhead who comes out of prison, he was terrifying and tragic at the same time. Despite having mixed-race heritage himself – Stephen Graham parents include a biological father who’s half Jamaican and half Swedish – he played that role with such commitment it became iconic.
He carried Combo through This Is England ’86, ’88, and ’90, showing different sides across decades.
Boardwalk Empire (2010-2014) made him huge in America. Playing Al Capone, he won two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Americans couldn’t believe he was actually Scouse; his Chicago accent was spot on.
Line of Duty series five had him as corrupt copper John Corbett. That identity reveal? Brilliant. The Irishman (2019) put him alongside De Niro and Pacino. Boiling Point (2021), shot in one continuous take in a restaurant kitchen, was properly stressful to watch.
Stephen Graham TV Dramas Cover Everything
Stephen Graham TV dramas range all over. Little Boy Blue (2017) had him playing a real detective investigating Rhys Jones’s murder in Liverpool. Emotional stuff. Time (2021) with Sean Bean showed him as a prison officer. Help (2021) with Jodie Comer was set in a care home during COVID, and everyone was crying watching that.
The Virtues (2019) is maybe his best work. Playing a bloke dealing with childhood trauma, he’s absolutely devastating. Won him an RTS Award. If you’ve not seen it, I strongly recommend it, but brace yourself.
The Pirates of the Caribbean films and the Venom movies showed he can do blockbusters too. Playing Scrum, the pirate and Detective Mulligan, he had fun with Hollywood roles whilst still doing gritty British stuff.
Keeps Playing Coppers
Stephen Graham movies and TV shows police roles pop up loads. Little Boy Blue had him as Detective Superintendent Dave Kelly. Line of Duty made him a corrupt officer.
He’s got a new Apple TV+ series coming where he’s playing a serial killer called Jurek Walter, going up against Liev Schreiber’s detective. That’s flipping it; Graham as the villain being hunted. Based on Lars Kepler’s novels, filming in Pittsburgh this summer.
There’s also the Bruce Springsteen biopic Deliver Me From Nowhere coming in October 2025. Graham’s role hasn’t been revealed yet, but he apparently got a text from Springsteen himself thanking him for his performance. Springsteen said he saw his own late father in Graham’s portrayal. Made Graham cry reading it.
Family Background
Stephen Graham brothers include Aston Kelly, who’s also an actor. Their dad spoke proudly in 2010 about both sons appearing in BAFTA-winning films. Growing up, Graham had a complicated relationship with his mixed-race identity; sometimes he was accepted by white cousins, sometimes not by black cousins.
His stepdad, Mike Fazakerley, who married Graham’s mum, Mary, in 1989, helped him navigate that identity. Graham calls him “Pops” and credits him with being the huge male role model in his life. Mike’s a former head paediatric nurse, whilst Graham’s mum was a social worker.
Sadly, his mum passed away in 2022. When Graham got his OBE in December that year for services to drama, he dedicated it to her.
Why He’s Brilliant
What makes Stephen Graham movies and TV shows so watchable is that he never feels like he’s acting. Whether he is playing Al Capone, gushing his way into the role of a racist skinhead or growling as a pushy copper or a desperate chef, there’s always some level of authenticity. He vanishes into roles entirely; the accent, the walking, and the tics all change with the role.
He has described watching people in airports and train stations, observing how different types move. That preparation shows. You never think, “That’s Stephen Graham doing an American accent.” You just see the character.
Yet with all the success – the Emmys, the BAFTAs, working with Scorsese – he still lives in a small village in Leicestershire, walks his children to school, and refuses to be sucked into celebrity nonsense. Locals say he’s just a normal bloke who happens to be on telly.
That’s likely why people like him. He’s not trying to impress anybody; he’s not doing that Hollywood thing. He is a working actor with a working-class background who has done well through graft.
What’s Next
Beyond the Peaky Blinders movie, the Apple TV+ thriller, and the Springsteen biopic, Graham’s got more projects through Matriarch Productions. He’s producing as much as he’s acting now, using his position to create opportunities for others.
A Thousand Blows aired on Disney+ earlier this year. The Steven Knight period drama about Jamaican immigrants in 1880s London’s boxing world showed Graham’s commitment to telling diverse stories.
At 52, he’s in his prime. Some actors peak early and fade. Graham just keeps getting better, taking on tougher roles, and producing work that makes people think.
Bottom Line
As you review Stephen Graham movies and TV shows, you’re also looking at a career made on talent and hard work. From that chance encounter with Guy Ritchie through to Emmy-winning success creating his own shows, he’s demonstrated that a lad from Kirkby dreaming big can make it without changing who he is.
The next time you’re browsing Netflix and his name comes up, put it on. You know that one of the most watchable actors around today, whether in Adolescence, This Is England, or one of his hundreds of other roles, is going to deliver a brilliant performance. No flash, no nonsense — just real acting from one of Britain’s finest.
