Stephen Graham, who’s now dominating Netflix with Adolescence, has long been a force in British acting. Yet for a lot of, his defining role stays that of Combo, the volatile, racist skinhead in That is England.
The Shane Meadows classic revolved around a young boy falling under the influence of Combo’s gang, a personality so raw and intense that it left an imprint not only on audiences, but on Graham himself.
Irrespective of the role, Stephen Graham will pull out all of the stops and break our hearts. #Adolescence pic.twitter.com/3p3wpH9Ff0
— Netflix UK & Ireland (@NetflixUK) March 16, 2025
Critical Acclaim……Then Silence
The 51-year-old’s performance earned widespread acclaim, constructing on the momentum of his role in Snatch and for a moment it seemed as if he was on the cusp of becoming considered one of Britain’s top actors. But it surely wasn’t meant to be.
The industry had other plans and for eight long months after That is England, the phone simply didn’t ring. There have been no auditions, no offers and at one point, he was ready to offer all of it up and develop into a youth employee as an alternative.
The Emotional Toll of Playing Combo
The emotional toll of playing Combo was also immense. As a mixed-race man, getting into the mindset of a violent racist was excruciating for Graham. Not only that, filming dredged up childhood memories, including “little monkey boy,” and other “horrible words that” Graham didn’t “even need to say.” He would return home after particularly harrowing scenes, and break down in tears. At his lowest, he turned to alcohol to manage.
But That is England also proved transformative. In an interview on Desert Island Discs, Graham reflected on the way it modified him as an actor, teaching him to completely immerse himself in a task.
“I really like to enter people’s living rooms and create conversation and debate, try and produce about some discussion about what they’re watching,” he said. “It’s necessary for me, as an actor, to be a part of something that’s a social commentary.”
And this philosophy runs deep in his latest project, Adolescence, a series he not only stars in but additionally co-wrote.
Netflix’s Biggest Hit: Adolescence
Adolescence, a gripping drama a few young boy accused of murder, has exploded in popularity, topping Netflix charts worldwide with over 90 million hours of viewing time and counting.
Nevertheless, for Graham, the numbers are secondary to the message. “We desired to put a mirror as much as society and just say take slightly look and see what’s happening,” he said of the show in an interview with ITV.
He also said when discussing the show with Radio X, “Look, it began once I read an article, and it was an article a few young boy who’d stabbed a young girl to death, and it just, you realize, it made me feel cold.”
Stephen Graham read stories of young boys killing young girls and took a deep dive into the societal causes while creating @netflix’s #Adolescence. #FallonTonight pic.twitter.com/RV6docEGIH
— The Tonight Show (@FallonTonight) March 20, 2025
Graham went on so as to add, “Then a few months later, there was a chunk on the news, and it was a few young boy who’d stabbed a young girl to death, and if I’m really honest with you, they hurt my heart. These two incidents were opposite ends of the country. And I just thought, ‘Why? Why is that this happening?’”
He concluded, “Not simply because I’m a father, but I believe any form of human being with an oz. of ethical compass can take a look at that form of situation and think, ‘What’s happening? What’s happening with society today that we’re in?’”
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