# Stephen Graham

Stephen Graham (born 3 August 1973) is an English actor and producer. He 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).
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, in the fifth series of Line of Duty, in the HBO series Boardwalk Empire, in the BBC drama Time, and in the sixth series of Peaky Blinders.
Graham's film appearances include Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017), 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).
He has received nominations for five British Academy Television Awards and two British Academy Film Awards. He was appointed OBE in 2023.

## Early life and education

Stephen Graham was born in Kirkby, Merseyside, on 3 August 1973. He was brought up by his mother, a social worker, and his stepfather, a mechanic who later became a paediatric nurse. He maintained a good relationship with his biological father. He had a Swedish grandmother and Jamaican grandfather, and has discussed his experience being a light-skinned multiracial person, as he has brothers who have much darker skin.
He 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 had seen him perform as Jim Hawkins in a school production of Treasure Island. He then continued his education at Ruffwood Comprehensive and was subsequently introduced to Liverpool's Everyman Theatre at the age of 14, later going on to train at the Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance.

## Career

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), before his breakout role as Andrew "Combo" Gascoigne in the film This Is England (2006), the last of which garnered a nomination for a British Independent Film Award. 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). He also starred 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).
He appeared as the Scrum in the 2011 film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, a role he reprised in the 2017 film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, starring alongside his wife Hannah Walters. Other film roles include Anthony Provenzano in The Irishman (2019) and Patrick Mulligan in Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) and its sequel Venom: The Last Dance (2024).
Graham has often portrayed characters from different parts of Britain, Ireland, and America, receiving praise for his accent work.
He appeared in the music videos for "I Remember" by Deadmau5 and Kaskade, "Fluorescent Adolescent" and "When the Sun Goes Down" by Arctic Monkeys, "Unlovable" by Babybird (directed by Johnny Depp), and Gazelle's single "Finger on the Trigger". Graham appeared in the music video "Soul Vampire" by Macclesfield-based neo-psychedelic band The Virginmarys, the music video for "Turn" by Travis, and Kasabian's video "You're in Love with a Psycho". He appeared as an inmate within the open prison system in the music video for Goldie's "I Adore You" in 2017, and also starred in Sam Fender's music video for "Spit of You", in which he plays Fender's father.
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. He also appeared in "CODnapped", a promotional video for a DLC of the video game Call of Duty: Ghosts.
In 2019, Graham featured as DS John Corbett in series 5 of the BBC drama Line of Duty. In November of that year, Graham was the guest for BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. 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.
In 2021, he starred alongside his wife Hannah Walters in the film Boiling Point, directed by his Band of Brothers co-star Philip Barantini. A one-shot film set in a restaurant kitchen, the film was expanded from a 2019 short film of the same name. In October 2022, it was announced that Graham would reprise his role in a BBC One series airing in 2023 as a sequel to the film, also named Boiling Point.
Graham was nominated for an RTS Award for his work in The Street, and for a British Independent Film Award for his work in This Is England. He has received nominations for five British Academy Television Awards and two British Academy Film Awards. He was made an OBE in 2023.

### Production company

In 2020, he co-founded the production company Matriarch Productions with his wife, Hannah Walters.

## Recognition

Graham was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to drama, which he dedicated to his mother, who died in 2022.

## Personal life

Graham began dating actress and producer Hannah Walters after they met while training as actors at Rose Bruford College, and they later married. As of February 2018 they live in Ibstock, Leicestershire, having previously lived in the Beckenham area of London. They have a son and a daughter together.
Graham has dyslexia, revealing in 2019 that Walters reads scripts for him and helps him decide whether to accept a role. He is teetotal and has struggled with depression, having once tried to hang himself in his early 20s, stating that he only survived because "the rope snapped".
He is a lifelong supporter of Liverpool FC and made several appearances on Sky Sports's Soccer AM. In December 2024, he faced an FA investigation after verbally abusing a referee at a non-league football match in Leicestershire.

## Filmography

Key :
| † | Denotes works that have not yet been released |

### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1990 | Dancin' Thru the Dark | Football Kid | |
| 1991 | Blonde Fist | Son | |
| 1997 | Downtime | Jacko | |
| 1998 | Joint Venture | |
| 2000 | Snatch | Tommy | |
| 2001 | Blow Dry | Photographer | |
| 2001 | The Last Minute | DJ Banana | |
| 2002 | Revengers Tragedy | Officer | |
| 2002 | Gangs of New York | Shang | |
| 2003 | American Cousins | Henry | |
| 2003 | Without You | Billy | Short film |
| 2004 | The I Inside | Travis | |
| 2005 | Pit Fighter | Harry | |
| 2005 | Goal! | Des | |
| 2006 | Scummy Man | George | Short film |
| 2006 | This Is England | Andrew "Combo" Gascoigne | |
| 2007 | The Good Night | Victor | |
| 2008 | Filth and Wisdom | Harry Beecham | |
| 2008 | The Crew | Franner | |
| 2008 | Inkheart | Fulvio | |
| 2009 | The Devil's Wedding | The Hotelier | Short film |
| 2009 | Awaydays | Godden | |
| 2009 | The Damned United | Billy Bremner | |
| 2009 | Doghouse | Vince | |
| 2009 | Public Enemies | Baby Face Nelson | |
| 2010 | London Boulevard | Danny | |
| 2010 | Season of the Witch | Hagamar | |
| 2011 | Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides | Scrum | |
| 2011 | Texas Killing Fields | Rhino | |
| 2011 | Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy | Jerry Westerby | |
| 2011 | Being Eileen | Pete Lewis | |
| 2012 | Best Laid Plans | Danny | |
| 2012 | Blood | Chrissie Fairburn | |
| 2014 | Get Santa | Barber | |
| 2014 | Hyena | David Knight | |
| 2015 | A Patch of Fog | Robert Green | |
| 2015 | Orthodox | Benjamin | Executive producer |
| 2017 | Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales | Scrum | |
| 2017 | Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool | Joe Turner Jr. | |
| 2017 | Journey's End | Trotter | |
| 2017 | Funny Cow | Mike | |
| 2017 | Being Keegan | Jay | Short film |
| 2017 | The Man with the Iron Heart | Heinrich Himmler | |
| 2018 | Yardie | Rico | |
| 2018 | Walk like a Panther | Mark Bolton | |
| 2019 | Hellboy | Gruagach | Voice |
| 2019 | Rocketman | Dick James | |
| 2019 | The Irishman | Anthony "Tony Pro" Provenzano | |
| 2019 | Boiling Point | Chef | Short film, adapted into a feature in 2021 |
| 2019 | Pop | Pop | |
| 2020 | Greyhound | Lieutenant Commander Charlie Cole | |
| 2021 | Venom: Let There Be Carnage | Patrick Mulligan | |
| 2021 | Boiling Point | Andy Jones | |
| 2022 | Matilda the Musical | Mr. Wormwood | |
| 2024 | Young Woman and the Sea | Bill Burgess | |
| 2024 | Buffalo Kids | Uncle Niall | English version, Voice role |
| 2024 | Modì, Three Days on the Wing of Madness | Léopold Zborowski | |
| 2024 | Venom: The Last Dance | Patrick Mulligan | |
| 2024 | Blitz | Albert | |
| 2025 | Deliver Me from Nowhere † | Douglas Springsteen | Post-production |
| TBA | The Immortal Man † | Hayden Stagg | Post-production |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1990 | Children's Ward | Mickey Bell | 2 episodes |
| 1993 | Heartbeat | Barry Ward | Episode: "Riders of the Storm" |
| 1996 | Devil's Food | WPKV News Director | Television film |
| 1997 | The Lakes | Graham | Episode #1.1 |
| 1998 | Brothers and Sisters | Andrew | |
| 1998 | Where the Heart Is | Nick Bowen | Episode: "Darkness Follows" |
| 1998 | Liverpool 1 | Thewlis | 2 episodes |
| 1998 | The Jump | Peter McNulty | 2 episodes |
| 1998–2002 | The Bill | Jezzo / Jason Barrett | 3 episodes |
| 1999 | Coronation Street | Lee Sankey | 5 episodes |
| 2000 | Forgive and Forget | John | Television film |
| 2001 | Band of Brothers | Sgt. Myron "Mike" Ranney | 2 episodes |
| 2002 | Flesh and Blood | Eddie | Television film |
| 2004 | Top Buzzer | Lee | 10 episodes |
| 2005 | M.I.T.: Murder Investigation Team | Jason Phelps | Episode #2.3 |
| 2005 | Last Rights | Steve | Miniseries |
| 2005 | Empire | Bazzer | Miniseries |
| 2006–2007 | The Innocence Project | Andrew Lucas | 6 episodes |
| 2008 | The Passion | Barabbas | 3 episodes |
| 2008 | Occupation | Danny Ferguson | 3 episodes |
| 2008 | The Street | Shay Ryan | 2 episodes |
| 2010 | This Is England '86 | Andrew "Combo" Gascoigne | 2 episodes |
| 2010–2014 | Boardwalk Empire | Al Capone | 36 episodes |
| 2011 | This Is England '88 | Andrew "Combo" Gascoigne | 2 episodes |
| 2011 | Walk like a Panther | Mark Bolton | Episode #1.1 |
| 2012 | Accused | Tony | Episode: "Tracie's Story" |
| 2012 | Parade's End | Vincent Macmaster | 5 episodes |
| 2012 | Good Cop | Noel Finch | 1 episode |
| 2013 | Playhouse Presents | Len | Episode: "The Call Out" |
| 2015 | This Is England '90 | Andrew "Combo" Gascoigne | 3 episodes |
| 2016 | The Secret Agent | Chief Inspector Heat | 3 episodes |
| 2016 | The Watchman | Carl | Television film |
| 2017 | Decline and Fall | Philbrick | 3 episodes |
| 2017 | Taboo | Atticus | 8 episodes |
| 2017 | Little Boy Blue | Detective Superintendent Dave Kelly | 4 episodes |
| 2018 | Action Team | Gavril | Episode: "Mind Games" |
| 2018–2020 | Save Me | Fabio "Melon" Melonzola | Main role |
| 2019 | Line of Duty | John Corbett | Series 5, Main Role |
| 2019 | The Virtues | Joseph | 4 episodes |
| 2019 | A Christmas Carol | Jacob Marley | Miniseries |
| 2020 | White House Farm | DCI Taff Jones | 6 episodes |
| 2020–2022 | Code 404 | DI Roy Carver | Main role |
| 2021 | Time | Eric McNally | Three-part drama |
| 2021 | The North Water | Captain Brownlee | Miniseries |
| 2021 | Help | Tony | Television film |
| 2022 | Peaky Blinders | Hayden Stagg | Series 6; 2 episodes |
| 2022 | The Walk-In | Matthew Collins | Main role |
| 2023 | Boiling Point | Andy | BBC Television sequel series |
| 2023 | Bodies | Elias Mannix | Main role |
| 2025 | A Thousand Blows | Sugar Goodson | Also executive producer |
| 2025 | Adolescence | Eddie Miller | Also co-creator, co-writer, and co-executive producer |

### Music videos

| Year | Title | Artist |
| 1999 | "Turn" | Travis |
| 2006 | "When the Sun Goes Down" | Arctic Monkeys |
| 2007 | "Fluorescent Adolescent" | Arctic Monkeys |
| 2008 | "I Remember" | Deadmau5 ft. Kaskade |
| 2008 | "Soul Vampire" | The Virginmarys |
| 2010 | "Unloveable" | Babybird |
| 2017 | "You're in Love with a Psycho" | Kasabian |
| 2017 | "I Adore You" | Goldie |
| 2019 | "Wandering Star" | Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds |
| 2021 | "Spit of You" | Sam Fender |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 2006 | British Independent Film Award | Best Supporting Actor | This Is England | Nominated |
| 2010 | RTS Awards | Best Actor | The Street | Nominated |
| 2010 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Boardwalk Empire | Won |
| 2011 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Boardwalk Empire | Won |
| 2013 | British Academy Television Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Accused (Tracie’s Story) | Nominated |
| 2013 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Boardwalk Empire | Nominated |
| 2014 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Boardwalk Empire | Nominated |
| 2016 | British Academy Television Awards | Best Actor | This Is England '90 | Nominated |
| 2018 | RTS Awards | Best Actor | Little Boy Blue | Won |
| 2018 | International Film Festival of Wales | Best Actor | Being Keegan | Won |
| 2019 | British Academy Television Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Save Me | Nominated |
| 2019 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | The Irishman | Nominated |
| 2018 | RTS Awards | Best Actor | The Virtues | Won |
| 2020 | British Academy Television Awards | Best Actor | The Virtues | Nominated |
| 2022 | British Academy Film Awards | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Boiling Point | Nominated |
| 2022 | British Independent Film Award | Best Actor | Boiling Point | Nominated |
| 2022 | British Academy Television Awards | Best Single Drama (as producer) | Help | Nominated |
| 2022 | British Academy Television Awards | Best Actor | Help | Nominated |
| 2022 | British Academy Television Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Time | Nominated |
| 2022 | Broadcasting Press Guild Awards | Best Actor | Help / Time | Won |
| 2022 | Seoul International Drama Awards | Best Actor | Help | Won |