10 Best Performances By Stephen Graham

Take a look at some of the best performances (so far) from Stephen Graham, who can be seen most recently in the new Jimmy McGovern BBC series, Time.

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Actor Stephen Graham is arguably one of the most understated actors working in Britain today. His consistent performances have always gained high praise from audiences and critics alike and he continues to work amongst some of the best actors around.

Graham currently stars in the new Jimmy McGovern penned BBC series drama series Time, alongside co-star Sean Bean. Once more, he is able to bring his wealth of experience to the role of prison officer Eric McNally, a man forced to choose between his family and the law.

10 Snatch

In 2000 a fresh-faced Graham appeared alongside the likes of Jason Statham and Brad Pitt in Guy Ritchie’s comedy crime caper Snatch. It was a well-rounded supporting role that can certainly be attributed as his breakout performance and one which got the 27-year old actor noticed.

Graham played the dim-witted business partner of boxing promoter Turkish (played by Statham). It was a great supporting role for the young actor and helped pave the way for future projects. Even more impressive was his assumed cockney accent, a world away from his normal scouse accent.

9 Gangs Of New York

In 2002, Graham scored a supporting role alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day-Lewis in Martin Scorsese’s historical crime drama, Gangs of New York.

Set in 1863, Graham played the role of Shang, and it was the first time the actor had been involved with such a big production on this scale. Despite various production issues, involving increased budgets and delays, Scorsese’s vision still managed to score big at the box office and was even nominated for 10 Academy Awards, despite failing to pick any up on the night.

8 This Is England

In 2006 writer/director Shane Meadows followed up his psychological thriller Dead Man’s Shoes with a semi-autobiographical tale about his experiences growing up in the East Midlands. Stephen Graham was cast as Andrew “Combo” Gascoigne in the critically acclaimed British drama This Is England, a role that solidified him as a formidable acting force amongst his peers.

The story, about a group of young skinheads in England during the early ’80s, was a bleak coming-of-age critique that was both honest and resonated with audiences — so much so that it was followed up with a TV miniseries trilogy set every two years. Each series followed the events of the original feature film and saw Graham return in each subsequent series, once more establishing his ability for powerful performances.

7 Save Me

The Walking Dead’s Lennie James wrote and starred in this gritty Sky Atlantic drama series about Nelly, a man who is determined to track down his estranged missing daughter by doing whatever it takes to find her.

James has a great supporting cast around him here, including Snatch co-stars Jason Flemyng and, of course, Stephen Graham. Graham plays Nelly’s best friend, Melon, a convicted sex offender, who is fighting his emotional battles with his past. It was a beautiful and understated performance by Graham who manages to garner sympathy with his checkered past.

6 Line Of Duty

In 2019 Graham returned to the small screen as the guest star during the season 5 run of hugely successful BBC police corruption drama Line of Duty.

Graham plays deep undercover detective sergeant John Corbett who infiltrates an organized criminal group — a group that features heavily throughout the series. Even though the undercover twist isn’t revealed to audiences immediately, Graham does an outstanding job at keeping audiences guessing as to what his true motives are.

5 Boardwalk Empire

The highly praised HBO series Boardwalk Empire, starring Steve Buscemi, ended its five-season run back in 2014. It picked up a host of awards and was a critically acclaimed hit.

Martin Scorsese directed the pilot episode of the show and, thanks to his performance in the Scorsese-helmed Gangs of New York, was willing to cast Graham in the show as the young version of legendary American gangster Al Capone. His portrayal of a hot-headed young and eager Capone was well handled by Graham, who has shown his ability to play scary, intense and almost unpredictable characters on numerous occasions.

4 Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

There’s no doubt that Stephen Graham is a fantastically emotional and passionate actor. It’s what makes him a great performer and why he is often cast in gritty dramas. However, his versatility also makes him particularly good at supporting comedic roles, as well.

In the 4th installment of the hugely successful Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Graham took on the role of the scrappy and crafty pirate Scrum. Here was a role where Graham could further showcase his capabilities for comedic timing, much like he did in the aforementioned Snatch. A performance that helped him land the chance to reprise his role in the sequel Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

3 The Virtues

The Virtues saw Graham team up again with English filmmaker, Shane Meadows. He and Graham had previously worked together on This Is England, as well as the series sequels. The four-episode drama series focuses on Joseph, who travels to Ireland to find Anna, his estranged sister, where he discovers a dreadful memory from an incident he had since suppressed.

Graham plays the lead role and, once more, is able to convey real dramatic emotion as his character deals with an array of painful trauma right up to its shocking conclusion.

2 Little Boy Blue

Stephen Graham has never been afraid of tackling roles that revolve around tough subject matter. In 2017, he starred in Jeff Pope’s mini-series Little Boy Blue, which was based on the real-life murder of young Rhys Jones.

The ITV drama series saw Graham playing the role of DS Dave Kelly from Merseyside Police, who was involved in the investigation into Rhys’s murder and helped lead his team to bring the murderers to justice. Graham is particularly skillful at embodying certain real-life characters, and this time around, he able to bring a good blend of emotional empathy and authoritativeness to the role.

1 The Irishman

Crime drama The Irishman marked the third time that the Merseyside actor had worked with Martin Scorsese. This time he was joined by acting heavyweights Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino and was able to slip seamlessly into an outstanding supporting cast.

The role Graham landed was that of Anthony Provenzano, head of the Genovese crime family New Jersey faction. He seemed very at ease on screen playing alongside these cinematic greats and even improvised a prison scene alongside Pacino that surprised his veteran co-star.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/bbc-time-best-roles-stephen-graham/