Given the breadth and depth of impeccable British acting out there, it’s no small praise to say that Stephen Graham is one of our absolute finest.

The Merseyside-born actor has become a giant name in heavy-hitting drama thanks to roles in film and TV like the game-changing This Is England, anxiety-inducing restaurant drama Boiling Point and upcoming East End-based series A Thousand Blows. Not to mention a perhaps surprising yet unforgettable role as Mr Wormwood in Matilda The Musical. 

And his star shows no sign of dimming as Graham appears with Top Boy’s Ashley Walters and his A Thousand Blows co-star Erin Doherty in the new Netflix series Adolescence out now. Graham’s wife, actor Hannah Walters, is also executive producer of the four-part drama. 

Whether you’re a dedicated lover of Graham’s performances or a new fan, here’s our pick, in no particular order, of the roles that should be on your radar. 

Consider your weekend plans sorted…

Adolescence might be the most difficult thing you’ll watch in 2025. It will also be the most memorable and important. Graham co-wrote and stars in this drama about a family that’s torn apart when their teenage son Jamie is accused of murder and the four-part series (each part is filmed in a single take) asks what could cause a young man from a loving family to commit such an act? Ashley Walters, Erin Doherty and newcomer Owen Cooper star alongside Graham in this nightmarish must-watch. 

Adolescence is available to stream now on Netflix

Perhaps one of Graham’s most well-known roles is as John Corbett in series five of Line Of Duty. He was the guest lead in the fifth instalment of Jed Mercurio’s gritty hit drama and in a season packed full of unexpected twists.

Not only were we introduced to Corbett (Graham) as John Clayton, a high-ranking figure in a deadly organised crime group (OCG), but we then found out he was actually an undercover police officer. He’d cut ties with his handler and seemingly gone rogue but after making contact with Steve (Martin Compston), we realised that Corbett was sitting on a mine of useful information to take down the OCG. Episode four brought Corbett’s story to an unfortunate end but if you’re a dedicated Line Of Duty fan, you’ll know that his legacy lives on. 

Line Of Duty is available to stream on BBC iPlayer

Genuis, thought-provoking, realistic, stressful – just some of the phrases used to describe this culinary film that sees Graham take the lead role as beleaguered restaurant head chef Andy Jones and makes The Bear feel like an episode of Gilmore Girls. 

Filmed in one continuous shot (which dramatically ramps up the tension), Boiling Point focuses on one particularly busy night at Jones & Sons, an upmarket restaurant in London. It seems as though Andy’s life is spinning out of control as he has to manage his staff, stay on top of orders and keep a lid on rising tensions. This all plays out while Andy also has to simultaneously battle a downgraded health and safety rating, a dramatic allergic reaction, and racism. It’s glorious chaos.

Graham also reprised his role as Jones in the BBC series spin-off of the multi award-winning film, which picks up six months from where the film left off and sees sous chef Carly (Vinette Robinson) as head chef at her own restaurant.

Boiling Point is available to buy on Apple TV

This iconic 2006 film was such a hit that it went on to have multiple television sequels, which were an equal punch in the gut. 

Graham stars as the violent and antagonistic Andrew “Combo” Gascoigne, a first-wave skinhead.  The story centres on young skinheads in England in 1983 and illustrates how their subculture had roots in 1960s West Indian culture like ska, soul, and reggae music but went on to be influenced by far-right white nationalists. This ultimately led to divisions within the skinhead scene, something that Combo is instrumental in.

The discomforting portrayal of such a character took a toll on Graham. He spoke candidly on Desert Island Discs about the way he had to dive into the character and how he lost himself “quite a bit” in doing so. He revealed he would “cry my eyes out” from doing intense scenes which brought up memories of his own racial abuse growing up in Merseyside as a mixed-race boy with a Jamaican grandfather.

This Is England (the film) is available to buy on Apple TV with the series available to stream on Channel 4

This excellent Disney+ drama comes from the mind of Steven Knight, creator of Peaky Blinders and Taboo (both of which Graham has also starred in) and is already getting rave reviews, including from Stylist writer Shahed Eyazadi who called it the best thing she’ll watch this year.

It explores the dark underbelly of boxing in 1880s Victorian London and the social climate of London in the post-industrial revolution era. Graham will play the role of Sugar Goodson, the dangerous boxing rival at the heart of the drama (he also serves as executive producer for the series).

Deadly rivalries, boxing matches, ruminations on history and race and all set in London’s East End? Sign us up.

A Thousand Blows will be available to stream on Disney+ on 21 February

This Netflix series is a unique and ambitious crime thriller spanning generations and Graham leads the cast as Elias Mannix.

The eight-part series is an adaptation of Si Spencer’s 2015 murder-mystery graphic novel, which follows four detectives in four different time periods investigating the murder of the same victim. It all kicks off when an unidentified body is discovered in Whitechapel, which then leads to a 150-year-old conspiracy being uncovered.

Bodies is available to stream on Netflix

When The Irishman landed in 2019, it was the Mafia movie many had been waiting for, including Graham who called it his: “Champions League.”

Directed by Martin Scorcese, it also stars two of the most legendary actors of all time: Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. Graham stars as Anthony “Tony Pro” Provenzano, head of the Genovese crime family New Jersey faction and more than held his own alongside the Hollywood heavyweights even improvising a prison scene with Pacino that surprised the veteran actor.

This was the third time Graham and Scorcese joined forces - he also starred in Gangs of New York in 2003 and played mobster Al Capone in Boardwalk Empire from 2010-2014. 

The Irishman is available to stream on Netflix

If you haven’t watched this Bafta award-winning prison drama, please do so immediately. It’s an absolute masterclass in acting and tension and shows the inner workings and life of prison from two different sides.

We follow Mark Cobden (Sean Bean), a sympathy-inducing teacher who kills a man after drink-driving. Consumed by guilt, he has to face the dark realities of prison life. The prison officer in charge, Eric McNally (Graham), has a strong moral compass and relatability that the inmates admire. The mounting tensions are – at first – between the prisoners and figuring out their life stories but soon, we’re swept up in a wave of corruption as McNally has to do what he can to save his son.

Time is available to stream on BBC iPlayer

Dramas about Covid-19 may still seem a little too close to home but this Channel 4 series was bestowed with praise – and for good reason.

The moving drama is set in a fictional Liverpool care home and follows Sarah (Jodie Comer), a young carer who forges a real bond with Tony (Graham), a 47-year-old with Young Onset Alzheimer’s. However, the horrifying circumstances of Covid-19 throws everything into disarray and Sarah has to go to extraordinary lengths to protect those in her care. It’s the kind of watch where you’ll be left struggling to speak through the tears, but also unable to forget. 

Help is available to stream on Channel 4

Another stellar Channel 4 production cleverly tackles themes of repressed memory and revenge.

Coming from Shane Meadows, creator of This Is England, this bold series follows Graham as Joseph, a man who is plagued by his past but can’t seem to piece together the fractured and emotional flashbacks he has. After his son moves to Australia to be with his mother, Joseph’s alcoholism rears its head and returning to Ireland to figure out the tale of his childhood, so do memories of abuse, loss and loneliness.

Upon its release in 2019, the drama received much critical acclaim and cemented Graham as a multifaceted actor who confronts some of TV’s most profound roles. 

The Virtues is available to stream on Channel 4

This four-part ITV series explores a haunting true crime case and sees Graham lead the cast as Detective Superintendent Dave Kelly.

When eleven-year-old schoolboy Rhys Jones is brutally shot dead, DS Kelly is charged with bringing his teenage killer to justice. While the drama was commended upon its release for shining a light on the Liverpool-based murder, the series also does an excellent job of underlining the pressures of the investigation, one that was plagued by closing ranks, gang rivalries and ‘no comment’ answers throughout. 

Like the reality of the case it’s based on, you watch on knowing who killed Jones but like Graham’s emotional but determined performance of DS Kelly shows, it was really about the painstaking lengths the police had to go to in order to prove it.

Little Boy Blue is available to stream on ITV X

You’d be forgiven for not quite recognising Graham in this dark drama set in London in 1812, thanks to his giant skull tattoo. 

In the series, also created by Peaky Blinders’ Steven Knight, he plays Atticus, a former sailor and current criminal, who works for James Delaney (Tom Hardy), a man who has returned to London to claim his father’s inheritance. Graham is magnetic in every scene. 

The drama will return at some point, but as with the date of its release, it remains to be seen if Atticus will be back for more brawls and bad behaviour. 

Taboo is available to stream on BBC iPlayer 

We couldn’t complete this list without reference to Graham’s Mr Wormwood, the grotesque father of “nothing more than a scab” Matilda. 

“My daughter told me if I didn’t do it she’d disown me,” he has admitted of the musical that saw him contend with green hair and a genius offspring that reads all day despite his protestations. And thank goodness that she did.

Matilda is available to stream on Netflix

Images: Joseph Sinclair