Is Stephen Graham the best TV actor in Britain?

Stephen Graham is one of the best reasons to watch TV. From his breakout role in the searing This Is England series to memorable, morally complex star performances in the likes of The Virtues and Time, via indelible turns in other critically adored and zeitgeist-grabbing shows, he’s always brilliant and his very presence in a series is a mark of quality.

And not content with being one of the nation’s finest actors, he’s flexing his creative muscles off-screen too. Having helped bring several series to the screen as executive producer, he co-created the short film, feature film and TV series versions of the excellent Boiling Point. This year has already brought us another series he co-created, A Thousand Blows, and this week there’s another: Adolescence, available on Thursday 13 March in Apps > Netflix.

Graham, who co-created and co-wrote the drama, also stars as Eddie Miller, an ordinary father whose world is shattered when his 13-year-old son is accused of a heinous crime. Watch the trailer here.

With themes of knife crime and online radicalisation, Adolescence is the type of issues-driven drama that Graham specialises in: his career covers everything from poverty to far-right politics to corruption in prisons. However, while it may be timely and pertinent, Adolescence isn’t about some extreme element of society that we can view from afar, feeling horrified but safe.

Graham and script collaborator Jack Thorne – also writer of This Is England and The Virtues, as well as His Dark Materials, Enola Holmes and Netflix’s new Toxic Town – deliberately made the Millers an unexceptional family, not one suffering from problems related to addiction, abuse or poverty. The point is that this could happen to anyone.

The series also places viewers uncomfortably close to events through an unusual and impressive filming technique. Each of Adolescence’s four episodes is shot as a single take, making us feel like it’s unfolding in real time before our very eyes, and making it hard to look away. The same technique was used to great effect in the movie Boiling Point, and Graham reunites with director Philip Barantini here to achieve that same in-your-face urgency.

Graham has shown he likes to work with people repeatedly: as well as Thorne and Barantini, he recruited Erin Doherty from the cast of A Thousand Blows to play a psychologist in Adolescence, and he has longstanding collaborations with writer/directors including Shane Meadows (This Is England, The Virtues) and Steven Knight (Taboo, Peaky Blinders).

Having said that, arguably the standout actor in Adolescence is newcomer Owen Cooper, playing teenage misfit Jamie. Could he be as successful as, say, Jodie Comer (Killing Eve, The Bikeriders), who credits Graham with helping her career in the early days? Once you’ve got Graham on your side, the sky’s the limit.

All four parts of the drama Adolescence are available from Thursday 13 March in Apps > Netflix. Once you’ve binged those – and we’re pretty sure you will, and quickly – you’ll almost certainly want to see more of national treasure Stephen Graham. Here’s our pick of his 10 essential TV roles, which you can watch on Virgin TV.

Stream it in Apps > Channel 4

When Shane Meadows returned to the world of his 2006 film This Is England for three Channel 4 miniseries, Graham reprised his role as skinhead Combo and is terrifyingly convincing both as the violent psychopath and, later, the guilt-ridden penitent.

Stream it in Apps > Prime or On Demand > STV Player

In Jimmy McGovern’s anthology, Graham appears in the episode “Tracie’s Story”, playing a married man who has an affair with a cross-dresser (Sean Bean) who he meets in the back of a taxi – starting him on a path that leads to a terrible crime. The role gained Graham his first BAFTA nomination.

Stream it in Apps > ITVX

This sensitive recreation of the investigation into the murder of 11-year-old Rhys Jones in Liverpool was close to the Kirkby-born Graham’s heart. Starring as Detective Superintendent Dave Kelly, he lends the series authenticity and intensity.

Stream it in Apps > BBC iPlayer

In series 5 of the huge hit police thriller, Graham is undercover officer John Corbett, who the AC-12 team fear has gone too far in his attempt to expose a criminal gang. A fearless and uncompromising performance from Graham.

Stream it in Apps > Channel 4

When Meadows needed a lead for his drama series about an alcoholic who is estranged from his family and relapses when he uncovers a disturbing incident from his past, he turned to Graham. It’s heavy watching to say the least, but Graham’s portrayal is endlessly sympathetic.

Stream it in Apps > BBC iPlayer

Another BAFTA-nominated role alongside Bean. Graham excels as prison officer Eric McNally, who offers support to a vulnerable convict (Bean) but gradually succumbs to corruption when faced with unbearable pressure. 

Stream it in Apps > Channel 4

Graham’s boosting of Jodie Comer’s career came full circle when they starred together in this heartbreaking one-off drama set in the early days of the Covid pandemic, as a dementia patient and nurse negotiating a new reality.

Stream it in Apps > ITVX

Matthew Collins took his life in his hands when he infiltrated a neo-Nazi group plotting to murder an MP. Graham’s performance as the real-life activist is suitably low-key and unshowy, and all the more persuasive for it.

Stream it in Apps > BBC iPlayer

After co-creating and starring in the film version, Graham took a supporting role in the TV continuation but was still a powerful presence as chef Andy, reluctantly handing the restaurant reins over to Carly (Vinette Robinson) as he’s forced to deal with his health problems.

Stream it in Apps > Netflix

A departure for Graham, this is a sci-fi thriller based on a cult graphic novel about murders with spooky similarities in different eras. In a dystopian future, Graham plays the enigmatic ruler whose murky past may hold the key to solving the crimes, and he proves up to the atypical task with a committed and sinister performance.

Already seen them? Here are 5 more brilliant Graham performances

Parade’s End
Stream it in Apps > U

Taboo
Stream it in Apps > BBC iPlayer

White House Farm
Stream it in Apps > ITVX

Code 404
Stream it in On Demand > Sky Comedy

A Thousand Blows
Stream it in Apps > Disney+

Looking for more great TV?

You’ll find Adolescence on Netflix along with lots more superb TV dramas and comedies, movies, documentaries and more, including WWE events. Check out our round-up of the new Netflix releases this month.

If you have our 360 or Stream box, there are four ways to navigate to the Netflix app:

1. Use your voice
A. Just press and hold the voice button and say “Netflix” to open the app.

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B. Go to the right and select Apps.
C. Select Netflix in the Apps screen.

3. Via channel 204 if you have our 360 box
A. Tuning to this channel automatically launches Netflix.

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