Stephen Graham, widely acknowledged as one of the UK’s top actors, is also known for his warm and generous personality within the industry. Many budding stars, including fellow Liverpudlian Jodie Comer, view him as a mentor, with Stephen offering support early in her career before she landed her breakthrough role in Killing Eve.
The 51-year-old actor first gained recognition in 2006 with his portrayal of the intimidating character Combo in Shane Meadows’ hard-hitting British drama This Is England. Since then, he has enthralled audiences in significant roles, most recently in the drama Adolescence. Over time, Stephen has formed close bonds with many of his co-stars, including Thomas Turgoose.
Stephen and Thomas initially met on the set of This Is England when Thomas was merely 13 years old. Thomas played the lead role of Shaun Fields, a young lad who gets mixed up with a gang of skinheads, including the violent and racist Combo. The duo shared numerous scenes together, with Shaun initially looking up to Combo before understanding the full extent of his terrifying nature.
In an emotional reveal on the Private Parts podcast, This Is England star Thomas Turgoose shared the heartache he went through after filming wrapped up, with his mother Sharon passing away from cancer before getting a chance to watch her son light up the big screen. “My mum passed away from lung cancer after I finished filming This Is England. She never got to see the finished film,” he recounted, reports
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Stephen Graham starred alongside Thomas in the hard-hitting drama (Image: Getty Images)
The film eventually became a tribute to his late mother as director Shane Meadows decided to dedicate This Is England to her, reflecting the personal bond that had formed within the cast and crew.
Thomas was a teenager at a crossroads after his mother’s death, facing the uncertainty of living with a father he barely knew. He disclosed how Stephen Graham and Shane Meadows were ready to open their homes and hearts: “When my mum died, I moved in with my dad, and I didn’t know him, so Shane Meadows and Steven Graham were going to adopt me if things didn’t work out with my dad.”
The bonds of the This Is England family extended to his real-life joys too. When Thomas tied the knot with Charlotte Revell on New Year’s Eve 2018, the wedding guests included many familiar faces from the beloved series.
Among them were Jo Hartley playing Cynth, his on-screen mum; Vicky McClure (Lol); Andrew Shim (Milky); Andrew Ellis (Gadget) and the supportive Stephen Graham.
Thomas in the 2006 British film, This Is England (Image: Publicity Picture/IFC Films )
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Thomas Turgoose, famous for his role in the iconic film ‘This Is England’ and its subsequent series, has recently tied the knot with Charlotte, much to the delight of fans. Sharing heartwarming images on , Thomas announced in bliss: “Oi can we talk about me marrying my best mate.”
He also shared a snapshot surrounded by co-stars at the wedding, affectionately captioning it: “Family.”
The actor’s path, however, could have taken a drastic turn before his successful acting career catapulted him to fame. Thomas openly admitted he was on a one-way track to jail, reminiscing about his delinquent past by saying: “I was destined for prison. Shoplifting things I didn’t need. There was a hardware store in Grimsby that I used to steal spray paint from for no reason.”
Despite this rocky start, Thomas has remained close friends with Stephen Graham, his co-star from ‘This Is England’, who has been happily married since 2008 to Hannah Walters, an actress he first met at drama school.
Hannah and Stephen, a beloved couple within the industry, filmed an emotional piece for Stand Up To Cancer in 2016 alongside Andrew Shim, another ‘This Is England’ alumni. The pair, who now have two children, credit their lasting relationship to a simple yet powerful formula as Hannah confessed to The Mirror: “Twenty eight years we’ve known each other. I’m going to be honest – the secret is that it’s me fancying my best mate,”.
Stephen, who suffers from dyslexia, relies on his wife Hannah to read scripts and guide him in choosing roles. The pair have collaborated on 10 different projects, including the 2011 film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and its 2017 sequel Salazar’s Revenge.
However, their most significant screen time together has been on the drama Time.
“I watched Hannah back in the day at drama school and always thought she was brilliant,” Stephen shared, expressing that working with his wife has been “absolutely phenomenal”. He continued, “Watching her read, doing scenes with her over the course of our time together, and also while she’s been a working actress, I’ve been blown away. I just think, ‘Wow… she is amazing’.Stephen further revealed, “There are selftakes I’ve done with Hannah when she’s auditioned for parts and she’s always got down to the last two for big roles.
It always comes down to that clichéd thing that they’ve gone for someone more well-known. “.