Stephen Graham on Acting, Adolescence & Al Pacino

The Romesh Ranganathan Show

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Monday, 21 September 2026 - 1 hour 18 minutes

How did Stephen Graham become one of Britain's best actors?

In this Monday episode of The Romesh Ranganathan Show, Romesh is joined by legendary actor, producer, and writer, Stephen Graham, to talk about his incredible, award-winning career, spanning over two decades.

Stephen reflects on his career, from This Is England and Boiling Point, to his latest work on Adolescence and Nocturne. He discusses method acting, the challenges of filming in one-shot, and what it takes to disappear into a character.

They also get into a discussion on their shared love of music and hip-hop, breakdancing, street fashion, and the culture around it. Plus, he talks about his new book, Letters To Our Sons, which he was prompted to write after Adolescence. He reflects on being a dad and the importance of communication.

Plus, Romesh and Stephen discuss Liverpool FC, fragrances, and the unexpected ways their lives have crossed paths.

It's an episode you don't want to miss.

A Ranga Bee Production in partnership with Platform Media.

Go to https://surfshark.com/romesh or use code ROMESH at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN!

Chapters

00:00 Intro

03:27 A gift for Stephen

08:39 Music & hip-hop

11:48 Rom’s Ice Cube interview

14:22 On breakdancing & culture

17:15 The street fashion

18:52 Adolescence

26:11 Boiling Point & the one-shot take

31:40 Method acting & This Is England 90

36:50 Stephen’s new book

38:28 On being a dad

46:26 A question from Shanthi

48:03 Being working class & changing the story

53:31 Nocturne

55:28 Imposter Syndrome, fame and being yourself

58:57 Misquoted

01:08:40 Liverpool FC

01:11:08 What fragrance is Romesh wearing?

01:13:10 An exclusive

01:14:38 Outro

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