Adolescence's Stephen Graham warns to parents over issue that 'hurt his heart'
Stephen Graham stunned viewers with his performance in Netflix hit Adolescence, and he shared his real feelings about the difficult issues covered
Stephen Graham stunned viewers with his performance in Netflix hit Adolescence, and he shared his real feelings about the difficult issues coveredStephen Graham stars in Adolescence, and shared that the show resonated with on a very emotional level
Stephen Graham has been a national treasure for decades and even got an OBE in 2023, but his new show Adolescence has brought him into the foreground more than ever.
Adolescence was released on Netflix on March 13, and stunned viewers immediately - particularly with the mysterious ending.
Speaking about the issues the show covers, Stephen spoke about reading an article âabout a young boy stabbing a young girl,â and then just a couple of months later saw an article about a very similar case. âThey hurt my heart,â he told the Independent.
The Peaky Blinders star added: âIt's just being mindful of the fact that not only we parent our children, and not only the school educates our children.
âBut also there's influences that we have no idea of that are having profound effects on our young culture, profound effects, positive and extremely negative. So itâs having a look at that and seeing that weâre all accountable.â
Stephen Graham shared how worrying certain violent news was among youth, and warned parents to be hyper-aware of how external influences might be impacting kids (
Image:
NETFLIX)
Stephen spoke more about the main young boy in the show, Jamie, the actor explained more about why the schoolboyâs background is so important.
âWe wanted him to come from an ordinary family. We wanted to be mindful from the very beginning that there was no way you could point the finger,â he said.
âDad wasn't particularly violent in the house and didn't raise his hand to mum or the boy or his daughter. Mum wasn't an alcoholic. Jamie wasn't abused sexually or mentally or physically.â
He said the series then asks the question: âWho is to blame? Who is accountable? Maybe we're all accountable family, school, society, community, environment.â
Stephen then spoke about a huge issue in the show - how much childhood has changed over the past few decades. Comparing his generation to Jamieâs, he said: âWhen we were kids, if you got sent to your room or if Kenny Everett was on the telly, and it got a bit racy, you'd be sent to your room and then you couldn't watch it.
âBut today even within the context of that home, when lads and girls go to their bedrooms, they have the world at their fingertips.â
Stephen has had plenty of praise before, including a BAFTA nomination. His appearance in Adolescence has made his star even stronger, and countless viewers took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to lavish compliments on his performance.
"Finished Adolescence, what an incredible show. We genuinely do not talk enough about the greatness of Stephen Graham. This final scene had me bawling,â one person said.
"Adolescence is absolutely astounding. This might be Stephen Grahamâs best work yet, and newcomer Owen Cooper completely holds his own. Itâs a tough but incredibly important drama, shot to perfection,â a second praised of him and his on-screen son.
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