Stephen Graham has revealed he almost quit acting after work dried up in the mid-2000s and he was left unemployed for almost a year.
Stephen Graham almost quit acting after he was left unemployed for almost a year.
The Adolescence star, 53, has revealed his career took a turn for the worse after he filmed 2006 soccer hooligan movie This Is England as he didn’t land another role for nine months – and Stephen has now revealed he considered walking away from the entertainment business to work with disadvantaged kids instead.
He told The Sunday Times newspaper: “After This Is England I didn’t work for nine months and couldn’t get a job. I was going to pack it in to become a youth worker.”
However, Stephen persevered and he landed more roles in Hollywood, including Public Enemies, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and London Boulevard before the end of the decade.
He has worked consistently ever since and is now hugely in demand following the massive success of his Netflix series Adolescence – and Stephen admits he feels grateful to have such a wonderful career and home life with his wife Hannah Walters.
He told the publication: “We’ve got a really nice house, a wonderful family, and I often find myself in moments of overwhelming gratitude because of how my life has turned out.”
Stephen also joked his son Alfie, 19, believes his dad is the only person in the world who actually loves their job. He said: “Before I left this morning I was like: ‘Have a good day at work, lad.’
“And Alfie says: ‘Dad, no one really loves their job apart from you’.”
Stephen added: “I’m fortunate that I’ve been busy these past few years, but I’ve never been obsessed with my career.”
The actor recently added a new trophy to his collection after picking up a Golden Globe for Best Male Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or a Motion Picture Made for Television for his work on Adolescence and he admitted the moment “didn’t feel real”.
Asked if his Golden Globes win felt “surreal”, he said on UK TV show This Morning: “Yes, exceptionally surreal. Yeah, it didn’t feel real.
“It was a wonderful experience though.”
However, the screen star insisted he doesn’t act to try to land awards. He added: “It’s what we do, and I say this all the time, it’s not a game of footy.
“It’s not a competition what we do. It’s subjective, it’s art, art, is subjective. It means different things to different people.
“It’s nice to be acknowledged by your peers, but ultimately that’s not why we do it. You know what I mean?
“If I was a footy player it would be well different, but it’s not why we do it. It’s completely different.”
Stephen Graham almost quit acting for surprising new career
