Actor Stephen Graham has been praised as a ‘national treasure’ for his role in Netflix’s Adolescence – and has opened up about his struggles with dyslexia and learning lines
The star of Netflix’s new hit drama Adolescence, Stephen Graham, has opened up about his silent struggle with dyslexia and how he manages to work around it for his job.
Graham has appeared in several high-profile jobs, including Line of Duty, This is England, Pirates of the Caribbean and Marvel’s Venom films. His latest praise comes from Adolescence where he portrays the father of a 13-year-old boy who gets arrested after he stabbed and killed his classmate. Fans on X branded him as “the best to come from the UK” and a “national treasure.”
The actor tributes plenty of his success to his wife, fellow actor Hannah Walters. The actress also appeared in Pirates of the Caribbean and hit show Boiling Point.
Stephen and Hannah met while in drama school and married in 2008. Now, Hannah helps him to recite and memorise his lines by offering assistance with the written words.
“I’m dyslexic, so I struggle,” Graham revealed on a Bafta Sessions panel in 2019. “My missus actually reads the script and says whether or not I’m doing it. She’s made some good choices.
“I have to read it and read it and read it, then make it look like it’s the first time I’m saying it.”
Stephen expanded on this on Act on This, an online platform for actors. “I read the whole script and we can talk about the script and I find my way into my character and what’s happening through the journey,” said Graham.
“It’s a technique that me and Hannah have developed; it’s not just me, I know a few other people do it.
“I break it down in bite-size chunks, so I know exactly what I’m shooting on what specific day.
“If you’ve got a couple of big days on the bounce, it’s no good having it all in your head. It’s good to have it roughly there, but as soon as we finish work, I’m going back to my hotel room to sit and learn those lines for the next day, so when I come in the next day I’m ready to go.
“Different actors their own techniques, and I respect all of them. If I was to give any kind of advice to any actor, [it would be to] do the work – because you need to do the work in order to make it look like you don’t do the work.”
The couple also work together often, as they formed their own production company, Matriarch Productions, which they established in 2020.
Their aim is to give space to underrepresented voices and stories. The collaboration created the Bafta-nominated film Boiling Point the following year, in which Walters worked as an executive producer and also appeared on screen.
Want all the biggest Showbiz and TV news straight to your inbox? Sign up for our free Daily Star Showbiz newsletter
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
