Background and career
Stephen Joseph Graham (born 3 August 1973) is an English actor, producer, and screenwriter. He has received nominations for seven British Academy Television Awards (winning one) and one British Academy Film Award. He has also won three Primetime Emmy Awards, one Golden Globe Award and two Actor Awards, among other accolades. Graham began his career in 1990, with early notable roles in Snatch (2000) and Gangs of New York (2002), before his breakthrough role as Andrew "Combo" Gascoigne in the film This Is England (2006). His film appearances include Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017), Rocketman (2019), The Irishman (2019), Boiling Point (2021) and its sequel series of the same name (2023), and Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) and its sequel Venom: The Last Dance (2024). On television, Graham reprised his role as Combo in This Is England '86, This Is England '88, and This Is England '90. He also starred in the drama Little Boy Blue; the fifth series of Line of Duty; HBO series Boardwalk Empire; BBC drama Time; and the sixth series of Peaky Blinders. He created, co-wrote and executive produced the miniseries Adolescence (2025) on Netflix, in which he also appeared, and won the awards for Lead Actor, Writer and Executive Producer for a Limited or Anthology Series at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards. He also starred in A Thousand Blows (2025), created by Steven Knight. In 2020 Graham co-founded the production company Matriarch Productions with his wife and fellow actor, Hannah Walters. For services to drama, Graham was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours.
Stephen Graham was born on 3 August 1973 in Kirkby, Lancashire, to parents who spanned racial and national lines. He was raised by his mother, a white English social worker, and his stepfather, a mechanic who later became a paediatric nurse. Graham maintained a good relationship with his biological father. Graham's father was of dual heritage: his mother was Swedish and his father was Jamaican. Graham has discussed his experience being a light-skinned multiracial person in the UK. His brothers have skin that is much darker than his. Graham's stepfather also has African heritage, and he helped Graham accept this side of himself. Graham attended Overdale Primary School in Kirkby, where he was encouraged to pursue an acting career at the age of eight by local actor Andrew Schofield, who lived across the road from him and went to see him perform as Jim Hawkins in a school production of Treasure Island. He then continued his education at Ruffwood School. Aged 14, he was introduced to Liverpool's Everyman Theatre, and he travelled to a range of locations to perform, including at the Edinburgh Festival. He was part of a breakdancing crew called "The Bronx Breakers". After his brother, Nathan, was born, Graham went to train at the Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance in Bexley, London. There he met actor, and future wife and collaborator, Hannah Walters. He then moved to Plumstead, South East London. He began learning about acting and was introduced to the work of Stanislavski and Uta Hagen.
Graham has played notable roles across both film and television. Graham has often portrayed characters from different parts of Britain, Ireland, and America, receiving praise for his accent work. In November 2019, Graham was the guest for BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. He said he loves improvisation. Graham is currently represented by Jan Epstein at Independent Talent Group (UK); ICM Partners and Link Entertainment (US).
Graham began his career in 1990, with early notable roles including Tommy in Snatch (2000), Myron "Mike" Ranney in Band of Brothers (2001), and Shang in Gangs of New York (2002).
Graham's breakout role was playing Andrew "Combo" Gascoigne in Shane Meadow's film This Is England (2006). He received a nomination for a British Independent Film Award for the role. He reprised his role as Combo on television in This Is England '86 (2010), This Is England '88 (2011), and This Is England '90 (2015).
Graham has starred in further television roles including: as Det. Supt. Dave Kelly in the 2017 drama Little Boy Blue; John Corbett in the fifth series of Line of Duty (2019); Al Capone in the HBO series Boardwalk Empire (2010–2014); Eric McNally in the BBC drama Time (2021); and Hayden Stagg in the sixth series of Peaky Blinders (2022). In 2011, Graham starred in the BBC Christmas show Lapland. When the series was remade as Being Eileen, Graham's role was recast with Dean Andrews. In 2019, Graham featured as DS John Corbett in series 5 of the BBC drama Line of Duty. In January 2020, he appeared in the ITV series White House Farm as Welsh detective "Taff" Jones. Despite his reputation for his ability to adopt different accents, a number of critics criticised his performance and stated that his Welsh accent was inauthentic.
