Stephen Graham is widely regarded as one of the UK’s finest actors, but he’s also earned a reputation in the industry for his warm and generous nature. Many younger stars look up to him as a mentor, including fellow Liverpudlian Jodie Comer, whom he supported early in her career before her breakthrough role in Killing Eve.
The 51-year-old actor first rose to prominence in 2006 with his portrayal of the menacing Combo in Shane Meadows’ gritty British drama This Is England. Since then, he has continued to captivate audiences in prominent roles, most recently in Netflix drama Adolescence. Over the years, Stephen has developed strong friendships with many of his co-stars, including Thomas Turgoose.
Stephen and Thomas first crossed paths on the set of This Is England, where Thomas was just 13 years old, playing the lead role of Shaun Fields, a young boy who becomes involved with a gang of skinheads, including the violent and racist Combo. The pair shared many scenes together, with Shaun initially idolizing Combo before realizing the true extent of his horrific nature.
Stephen almost adopted one of his co-stars
But shortly after they completed the project, tragedy struck when Thomas’ mother Sharon died from cancer. This Is England was dedicated to Thomas’ mum, who was not able to watch her son acting on the big screen. “My mum passed away from lung cancer after I finished filming This Is England. She never got to see the finished film,” he told the Private Parts podcast. “Shane Meadows dedicated the film to my mum. Stephen Graham promised my mum he’d look out for me. Everyone involved in This is England are family to me.”
Thomas Turgoose in This Is England (
Publicity Picture)
Still just a young teenager, Thomas was set to go live with his father but didn’t know him very well. Therefore, both Stephen and director Shane offered to take Thomas in themselves and give him a loving home if it didn’t go to plan. Thomas explained: “When my mum died I moved in with my dad and I didn’t know him, so Shane Meadows and Steven Graham were going to adopt me if things didn’t work out with my dad.”
When Thomas married his long-term sweetheart Charlotte Revell in a New Year’s Eve 2018 ceremony, he invited many of his former This Is England castmates. He was joined by on-screen mum Jo Hartley (Cynth), Vicky McClure (Lol), Andrew Shim (Milky), Andrew Ellis (Gadget) and Stephen of course.
Sharing a gorgeous snap of him with his new wife minutes after they wed, Thomas wrote on Instagram : “Oi can we talk about me marrying my best mate.” He then posted a second wedding picture of him with Charlotte joined by his co-stars, which he simply captioned: “Family.”
Things could have been very different for Thomas, who went on to star in follow-ups This Is England ’86 in 2010, This Is England ’88 the following year and This Is England ’90 in 2015. Before landing the breakout role of Shaun in the critically acclaimed film, Thomas confessed he was headed behind bars.
He said: “I was destined for prison. Shoplifting things I didn’t need. There was a hardware store in Grimsby that I used to steal spray paint from for no reason.” Thomas is still close with former co-star Stephen, who married his wife and fellow actor Hannah Walters in 2008.
Hannah and Stephen appeared in a film for Stand Up To Cancer in 2016 with Stephen and fellow This Is England star Andrew Shim The couple, who first met at drama school in the 90s and grew closer on the set of This Is England, now have two children together. “Twenty eight years we’ve known each other. I’m going to be honest – the secret is that it’s me fancying my best mate,” Hannah told The Mirror.
Because of his dyslexia, Hannah reads scripts for him and decides which roles he should pursue. The couple have appeared together in 10 different projects, including 2011 Pirates of the Caribbean movie On Stranger Tides and 2017 sequel Salazar’s Revenge, but BBC drama Time is the first one they have gained a lot of screen time.
“I watched Hannah back in the day at drama school and always thought she was brilliant,” explained Stephen, who said it had been “absolutely phenomenal” to work alongside his wife. Watching her read, doing scenes with her over the course of our time together, and also while she’s been a working actress, I’ve been blown away. I just think, ‘Wow… she is amazing’.
“There are selftakes I’ve done with Hannah when she’s auditioned for parts and she’s always got down to the last two for big roles. It always comes down to that clichéd thing that they’ve gone for someone more well-known.”
