Thaddea Graham

> I was just so drawn [to it], especially to Iona because of how strong she was and how unapologetic she was about that. I really love that you have this really strong female character. I think it’s quite empowering to see on screen, especially for younger viewers.
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> Graham speaking about her the character

**Thaddea Graham** (born 29 March 1997) is a Northern-Irish actress. She portrays Iona in the Netflix adaptation of *The Letter for the King*.

## Personal life

Graham was born in China and adopted from an orphanage in Changsha. She grew up in Northern Ireland.

She studied at ArtsED in London.

## Quotes

> We, actors, have this kind of duty of care, responsibilities, to tell these stories truthfully. I think that was the moment that I realized this is really what I want to do and I want to give it everything I’ve got.
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> I’m so terrified of being egotistical and holding myself on a pedestal. It’s a fear that sometimes makes me doubt myself way too much but I’m learning how to manage that better. I think having that quiet confidence is no bad thing and it’s what you need to be able to go, ‘You’re doing your best job.’ So I just did it and stopped worrying.
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> Music is such a therapy for me and I would love to release it professionally because I try to do it by myself, but I don’t really know what I’m doing.
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> Iona, I do love as a character. I want to see what happens next with her and Jaro, and whether she finds her way back to the gang.
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> I love hearing other people's thoughts on the story and the characters, it's really interesting to see what stands out to them or what hits them emotionally and I love hearing different opinions.
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> I ended up learning more from Iona, than Iona would have learned from me. She’s strong and constantly moving forward. I find a lot of comfort in her, so playing her was a gift.
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> Interview with *Flaunt*

## Trivia

* When she got the audition, she hadn't actually read the books.
* One of her best memories is riding back on a horse, rather than getting in the car, describing it as beautiful.
* She grew up reading *The Famous Five* series.
* She was able to keep her natural Belfast accent in the series.
* She and Islam Bouakkaz trained together at ArtsEd in London for three years.
* One of her nicknames is "Thady".

## Selected filmography

* *The Letter for the King* - Iona
* *Us* - Kat
* *The Irregulars* - Bea

## References

1. ↑ Schick, Michal (30 March 2020). "Thaddea Graham talks being the biggest ‘Letter for the King’ badass".
2. ↑ Barter, Pavel (13 March 2021). "Thaddea Graham: If I have a voice, I don't want to waste it". *The Times*. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
3. ↑ Perrier, Jasmine (2 April 2021). "Thaddea Graham doesn’t want to waste any chance she is given". *Grumpy Magazine*.
4. ↑ Bear, BJ Panda (27 March 2020). "LETTER FOR THE KING | THADDEA GRAHAM". *Flaunt*.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Flood, Alex (21 March 2020). "'The Letter For The King' cast on why their new Netflix fantasy is the perfect self-isolation binge-watch". *NME*.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Toner, John (21 April 2020). "The Letter For The King: Northern Ireland actor Thaddea Graham 'so proud' to star in Netflix series". *Sunday Life*.

## External links

* Thaddea Graham at Wikipedia
* Thaddea Graham at IMDb
* Thaddea Graham on Instagram
* Thaddea Graham on Twitter
* Thaddea Graham on YouTube