5 Best Stephen Graham Movies & TV Shows To Watch After Adolescence

Stephen Graham is rightfully receiving rave reviews for co-creating and starring in "Adolescence," itself perhaps one of the best Netflix Originals ever made. For Graham, however, outstanding work isn't anything new. While "Adolescence" may've formally put his name on the map, a quick search through his back catalog reveals the star has consistently delivered top-tier performances over the past 20 years.

Having proven himself a true chameleon with the monsters and tortured men he's brought to life over the years, Graham has collaborated with some of the most influential filmmakers and stars in movie history, including Daniel Day-Lewis, Brad Pitt (whose production company Plan B Entertainment helped get "Adolescence" off the ground), and Martin Scorsese. So, where do you begin with a talent like that? And what Graham projects merit should you check out after witnessing what might be his career-best turn in "Adolescence" (where he plays the heartbroken and deeply troubled father Eddie Miller)?

Well, if you're going to start somewhere, it's best to go with one of the most iconic British gangster films ever made — one that features a nearly unrecognizable Graham playing second fiddle to an action star in the making under the watchful and equally impressive eye of Guy Ritchie. But never fear, we've got four more picks for you to check out after that.

Sometimes, a sign of a great performance is that you almost entirely forget it's actually part of an actor's repertoire. In Graham's case, it's his role as the skittish partner to Jason Statham's boxing promoter in Guy Ritchie's finest work, "Snatch," a beloved British gem with a highly sought after diamond at the center.

In a film filled with characters spouting absurd accents, including Brad Pitt's often indecipherable Mickey "One Punch" O'Neil (whose accent is "not Irish and not English"), a then-unknown Graham fooled millions into believing he was a true Cockney hustler – albeit one who's less sharp than Statham's slot-machine owning geezer Turkish — with his turn as Tommy. Together, Turkish and Tommy are like a law-breaking Laurel and Hardy, with Graham serving as the gullible, gun-toting backup to Statham's cooler character whenever they face off against the dangerous gangsters scattered throughout Ritchie's vibrant and often violent world caper.

Setting all the organized hits and armed robberies aside, Graham's portrayal of Tommy stands out as one of the most lighthearted characters in Ritchie's film, which is why it deserves to be watched even more. It's almost astonishing to consider that the man behind a character who frequently puts his foot in his mouth in this absolute classic would later go on to break hearts with so many breathtaking performances. To quote the man himself, Tommy has the minerals, but it's only because Graham put them there.

It would be another six years before Graham truly turned heads again after "Snatch" thanks to the role that would define his career for quite some time. Directed by Shane Meadows, "This Is England" is a 2006 British coming-of-age film that takes place in 1983 and focuses on a young boy named Shaun (Thomas Turgoose). After losing his father in the Falklands War, Shaun falls in with a group of skinheads just before it's invaded by their former member, Combo (Graham), and his nationalist, far-right views.

Much like "Adolescence," "This Is England" highlights the matter of toxic masculinity (albeit from a different time), with Graham being the cause of the infection in the life of the innocent and impressionable Shaun. Larger than life to begin with, Combo's views and unparalleled rage quickly plague the film, raising the tension to unimaginable levels until the movie's heartbreaking and unforgiving climax. The brilliance of Graham's performance is that he presents Combo as just another broken soul from a working-class environment — one that channels his own misfortune into a monstrous presence that's as damaged as the boy he takes under his wing. 

His role in "This Is England" still stands as one of Graham's greatest. In fact, he was even willing to reprise it when Channel 4 released the spin-off series "This Is England '86," "This Is England '88," and "This Is England '90" in the years that followed. These various shows, all of which were co-written by "Adolescence" co-creator Jack Thorne, continued the story from Meadows' original movie, giving Combo a true arc along the way (one that one appropriate for Graham's troubled and often terrifying character).

The first time Graham and "Adolescence" director Philip Barantini experimented with one-takes, the result was the intense and utterly nerve-wracking "Boiling Point." Released in 2021, this incredible one-take movie follows chef Andy Jones (Graham) as he navigates a single night of service at his highly acclaimed London restaurant after a scathing visit from a health and safety inspector. What you end up with is essentially the British version of "The Bear," with Graham leading yet another superbly executed team effort. Making the achievement all the more impressive, "Boiling Point" was filmed near the eve of the COVID-19 lockdowns (which meant time really wasn't on the filmmakers' side).

The cramped and claustrophobic atmosphere of a fast-paced kitchen mixes in all the best and worst ways here with Graham's volatile and occasionally arrogant chef, who is doing everything he can to keep this machine ticking along. Following the film's high praise, Graham gave Jones the same treatment he did with his "This Is England" character and reprised his role for a four-part miniseries (also called "Boiling Point") that followed the events of the movie. Though it drops the one-take approach of the original film, the show still has all the winning ingredients to keep you hooked (even as Graham takes a step back and lets the rest of the ensemble soak up more of the spotlight).

In what would be considered a dream project for any actor, Graham shares the screen with titans of cinema like Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, and Joe Pesci in Martin Scorsese's epic gangster movie "The Irishman." Although the film primarily chronicles the life and times of real-life hitman Frank Sheeran (De Niro), Graham notably costars as the short-fused mobster Anthony "Tony Pro" Provenzano. In doing so, he also finds himself constantly butting heads on-screen with one of the greatest talents in movie history.

By this point, Graham had previously teamed up with Scorsese on "Gangs of New York" and "Boardwalk Empire" (where he played Al Capone), so he'd already proven he could hold his own against greats like Leonardo DiCaprio and Steve Buscemi. Nevertheless, it's Graham's blistering back-and-forth confrontations with Al Pacino's Jimmy Hoffa in "The Irishman" that mark the highlights of his Scorsese collaborations. Assuming you can make it through the movie's massive 3-hour and 29-minute runtime, you'll be lucky enough to watch Graham devour scenes with the "Godfather" and "Scarface" veteran, one of which memorably involves a bowl of ice cream in a prison cafeteria.

Following the film's release, Graham admitted he didn't warn his screen partner about that whole slapping the dessert out of his hands thing, which allowed him to truly scare Pacino (who was blown away by Graham's acting). While we expect Graham to earn plenty of awards for "Adolescence," he arguably deserved them just as much for putting the fear in Michael Corleone.

Not satisfied with giving audiences simply one great TV show in 2025, Graham also joined forces with "Peaky Blinders" creator Steven Knight on Hulu's must-see Victorian boxing drama "A Thousand Blows." The show follows Hezekiah Moscow (Malachi Kirby), a determined man who emigrated from Jamaica to try and make his name in industrial era London's underground boxing world. However, as though having to deal with the bigotry of this era isn't enough, there's another obstacle standing in Hezekiah's way: the tough-as-nails boxer Henry "Sugar" Goodson (played by Graham).

Somehow merging the chilling nature of Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) with the barbaric rage of Alfie Simmonds (Tom Hardy) from "Peaky Blinders," Sugar is the perfect adversary for Hezekiah, complete with his own inner battles to face. A boss-level villain regularly pacing at the opposite corner of the ring like an old dog itching for a fight, it's clear this character and the world he inhabits is another passion project for Graham (one that he's putting his all into).

He's not alone, either. Several supporting talent from both "Adolescence" and "Boiling Point" make appearances here, including Erin Doherty, who gives a blistering performance as Jamie's (Owen Cooper) visiting psychologist Briony Ariston in the former. With its first season only spanning six episodes, "A Thousand Blows" is yet another gripping endeavor from Graham. It's also a brilliant warm up bout for when he makes his return as Hayden Stagg in Netflix's "Peaky Blinders" movie.