(Photo by Netflix/ Courtesy Everett Collection. ADOLESCENCE.)
Stephen Graham Movies and Shows (Adolescence), Ranked By Tomatometer
Looking at esteemed British character actor Stephen Graham’s career arc as a whole, he’s portrayed many villains, sidekicks and antiheroes (including Guy Ritchie’s Snatch, through Gangs of New York, This Is England, Public Enemies) early on, and as more leading roles have come into the picture, he’s taken on more detective and paternal roles. This includes his heavy involvement in Adolescence (Certified Fresh and on Netflix) as co-creator, co-writer, and co-executive producer, in addition to co-star. Graham plays the grieving father of the titular adolescent Jamie Miller, played by Owen Cooper, who’s drawn in by online “manosphere” influencers and as a result, is arrested for murder of another teenager. Adolescence shows Graham’s deep concern for Internet culture and its effect on men specifically.
And now we look at Stephen Graham’s best movies and shows, ranked below by Tomatometer, with Certified Fresh films first.
Cast into the early Guy Ritchie vehicle Snatch as the lunkheaded sidekick Tommy to Jason Statham’s crooked boxing promoter Turkish, Graham is extraordinary from jump, as his character may not be as dull as he appears.
CNN‘s Paul Tatara on Snatch: “[Jason] Statham and Graham are especially amusing as the quibbling fight promoters.”
After Snatch, Graham kicked off a career of playing morally questionable characters from then onward, never more apparent than the ten-times-Oscar-nominated Gangs of New York, which won Martin Scorsese a Golden Globe for Best Director. In that ensemble film, Graham plays Shang, the young leader of the Dead Rabbits gang, which specializes in thievery. Other than his memorable scenes, Graham is best remembered during filming for nearly breaking Leonardo DiCaprio’s leg with a golf cart.
Graham’s next memorable and critically acclaimed role was Combo, the skinhead antagonist in This is England, who draws his working-class gang further into the far-right, National Front politics of the time, but comes to regret his actions. This film made numerous lists as one of the best of 2007, and was followed up by a trio of miniseries where Graham reprised his role.
John Hartl on This Is England: “Graham gives the kind of scary yet strangely sympathetic performance that transcends arguments about nature vs. nurture. He simply is what he is: a human black hole who threatens to obliterate everything that comes into contact with him.”
After that, Graham ate up the screen in Michael Mann’s Public Enemies as George “Baby Face” Nelson, a sociopathic lieutenant in John Dillinger’s (Johnny Depp’s) bank-robbing gang. Additional meaty roles followed soon after, including one of his first leading roles, the Fresh thriller A Patch of Fog, as an obsessive, stalking security guard, and his turn as Al Capone on the long-running HBO show Boardwalk Empire.
More recently, Graham starred in the intense kitchen workplace thriller Boiling Point, an expansion of a short film also starring Graham, where he plays a hard-driving head chef with alcohol and drug issues, presaging shows like The Bear that covered similar subject matter. He returned to reprise this role in the follow-up four-part TV miniseries.
Christina Newland on Boiling Point: “At the centre of it all is Graham, one of Britain’s finest actors, piercingly compelling as Andy. He summons all his lumpen bulldog ferocity and startling vulnerability for the part of a man fraying at the edges.”
Graham also played a leading role as a detective in Little Boy Blue, a dramatized true crime miniseries about the death of a schoolboy in Liverpool. And he portrayed another detective in the second and third Venommovies, the latter of which sees him taken over by one of many symbiotes.
And now ABC News‘ Peter Travers calls Adolescence “[an] emotional powerhouse that sneaks up and floors you. The young TV season sets a new gold standard with a series sure to rank with the year’s very best. Polish up Emmys for Stephen Graham and Owen Cooper as the father and son at the heart of the tale.” (Steve Horton)
Critics Consensus: An epic gangster drama that earns its extended runtime, The Irishman finds Martin Scorsese revisiting familiar themes to poignant, funny, and profound effect.
Synopsis: In the 1950s, truck driver Frank Sheeran gets involved with Russell Bufalino and his Pennsylvania crime family. As Sheeran climbs [More]
Critics Consensus:Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical brings the classic story back to the screen with a delightful Emma Thompson, dazzling dancing, and a suitably irascible take on the source material.
Synopsis: An extraordinary girl with a sharp mind and vivid imagination takes a daring stand to change her story -- with [More]
Critics Consensus:Journey's End brings R.C. Sherriff's 90-year-old play to the screen with thrilling power, thanks to director Saul Dibb's hard-hitting urgency and brilliant work from a talented cast.
Synopsis: In 1918, a group of British soldiers, led by an officer whose mental health is deteriorating, await their fate in [More]
Critics Consensus: Buoyed by Daisy Ridley's radiant star power and the remarkable trajectory of Gertrude Ederle's life story, Young Woman and the Sea is an old-fashioned sports movie that harkens back to the classics in the best way.
Synopsis: Daisy Ridley stars as the accomplished swimmer who was born to immigrant parents in New York City in 1905. Through [More]
Critics Consensus: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a dense puzzle of anxiety, paranoia, and espionage that director Tomas Alfredson pieces together with utmost skill.
Synopsis: In 1970s England the head of MI6, Control (John Hurt), dispatches an agent (Mark Strong) to meet with a Hungarian [More]
Critics Consensus: A tale of survival from director Steve McQueen, Blitz's examination of British society under wartime is given a beating heart by Elliott Heffernan and Saoirse Ronan's lovely performances.
Synopsis: Sir Steve McQueen's "Blitz" follows the epic journey of George (Elliott Heffernan), a 9-year-old boy in World War II London [More]
Critics Consensus:Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool showcases brilliant work from Annette Bening, whose performance is more than enough to outweigh this biopic's basic narrative.
Synopsis: Hollywood actress Gloria Grahame finds romance and happiness with a younger man, but her life changes forever when she is [More]
Critics Consensus:Funny Cow rests almost entirely on Maxine Peake's performance -- which proves more than capable of shouldering the weight of this affecting period drama.
Synopsis: A female comic bounces around before rising to the top in the 1970s and 1980s. [More]
Critics Consensus:Greyhound's characters aren't as robust as its action sequences, but this fast-paced World War II thriller benefits from its efficiently economical approach.
Synopsis: U.S. Navy Cmdr. Ernest Krause is assigned to lead an Allied convoy across the Atlantic during World War II. His [More]
Critics Consensus: Sinking in with as much baleful bite as its namesake, Hyena offers a dark, stylish, and impressively gritty addition to the British crime genre.
Synopsis: A corrupt London cop (Peter Ferdinando) tries to shut down an Albanian crime ring before his own illegal activities are [More]
Critics Consensus: Though flawed, the sprawling, messy Gangs of New York is redeemed by impressive production design and Day-Lewis's electrifying performance.
Synopsis: Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a young Irish immigrant released from prison. He returns to the Five Points seeking revenge [More]
Synopsis: Joseph, a painter-decorator and recovering alcoholic in England, falls into despair when his 9-year-old son leaves for Australia with his [More]
Synopsis: Head chef Carly runs a new restaurant, transforming Northern English dishes into five-star cuisine, while her kitchen sizzles with high-stakes [More]
Critics Consensus: Though perhaps a case of style over substance, Guy Ritchie's second crime caper is full of snappy dialogue, dark comedy, and interesting characters.
Synopsis: Illegal boxing promoter Turkish (Jason Statham) convinces gangster Brick Top (Alan Ford) to offer bets on bare-knuckle boxer Mickey (Brad [More]
Critics Consensus: Michael Mann's latest is a competent and technically impressive gangster flick with charismatic lead performances, but some may find the film lacks truly compelling drama.
Synopsis: Depression-era bank robber John Dillinger's (Johnny Depp) charm and audacity endear him to much of America's downtrodden public, but he's [More]
Critics Consensus: A sequel aimed squarely at fans of the original's odd couple chemistry, Venom: Let There Be Carnage eagerly embraces the franchise's sillier side.
Synopsis: Tom Hardy returns to the big screen as the lethal protector Venom, one of MARVEL's greatest and most complex characters. [More]
Critics Consensus:Yardie proves debuting director Idris Elba has a distinctive eye that benefits from a strong personal connection to his material, even if the end results are somewhat uneven.
Synopsis: A man's quest for retribution brings him into conflict with a vicious London gangster. [More]
Critics Consensus: While well-acted and skillfully directed, Blood never quite manages to draw its themes and characters into a coherent, compelling whole.
Synopsis: Sibling detectives (Paul Bettany, Stephen Graham) investigate the fatal stabbing of a 12-year-old girl. [More]
Synopsis: Danny (Stephen Graham) uses his huge, mentally impaired friend, Joseph (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), in underground cage matches to pay off a [More]
Critics Consensus: The always watchable Tom Hardy injects ample charisma into Venom: The Last Dance, but the offering buckles under its convoluted tonal ambitions.
Synopsis: In Venom: The Last Dance, Tom Hardy returns as Venom, one of Marvel's greatest and most complex characters, for the [More]
Critics Consensus:Awaydays is an overwrought coming-of-age drama that romanticizes the violence of 1970s street culture in Liverpool and neglects the requisites of a good script.
Synopsis: In England, 19-year-old Paul Carty (Nicky Bell) is bored with middle-class life. After his mother dies, Carty gets his friend [More]
Critics Consensus: In spite of its spotless pedigree and a strong sense of visual style, London Boulevard stumbles over its frenetic pace and crowded, clichéd plot.
Synopsis: A parolee battles a gangster for the affections of a reclusive movie star. [More]
Critics Consensus: It's shorter and leaner than the previous sequel, but this Pirates runs aground on a disjointed plot and a non-stop barrage of noisy action sequences.
Synopsis: The checkered past of Capt. Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) catches up to him when he encounters Angelica (Penélope Cruz), a [More]
Critics Consensus:Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales proves that neither a change in directors nor an undead Javier Bardem is enough to drain this sinking franchise's murky bilge.
Synopsis: Thrust into an all-new adventure, a down-on-his-luck Capt. Jack Sparrow feels the winds of ill-fortune blowing even more strongly when [More]
Critics Consensus: That The Good Night is the work of a first-time writer/director is apparent, as the story feels disjointed and never connects with the audience.
Synopsis: Gary (Martin Freeman), a musician, is trapped in an unhappy relationship with his live-in lover, Dora (Gwyneth Paltrow). He becomes [More]
Critics Consensus: Bereft of the imaginative flair that made earlier Hellboys so enjoyable, this soulless reboot suggests Dante may have left a tenth circle out of his Inferno.
Synopsis: While battling a trio of rampaging giants, the legendary half-demon Hellboy encounters Nimue the Blood Queen, an ancient resurrected sorceress [More]
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