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Stephen Graham Opens Up About Dyslexia Struggle

BBG News

On Tuesday, Stephen Graham exited the BBC Breakfast studios in Manchester in a relaxed manner, following his revealing interview about his personal battle with dyslexia.

The British actor, 51, seemed to be in high spirits as he stepped out in a navy zip-up hoodie layered over a matching T-shirt.

He brought out a large, blue travel case and paused along the way to grant autographs to the enthusiastic fans lined up outside.

Currently, Stephen’s name is making waves due to the skyrocketing popularity of his latest Netflix series titled “Adolescence.

The crime show, written by Stephen and Jack Thorne, was only released on Netflix on Thursday, but has already made waves and earned huge praise for its storyline and videography.

Stephen plays the part of Eddie Miller, who is the dad of Jamie Cooper, a young boy. Jamie is being suspected of having stabbed one of his schoolmates, Katie Holliday.

Yet, his impressive achievements didn’t just materialize out of thin air; they were hard-earned amidst hurdles, such as dealing with dyslexia.

The learning difficulty poses obvious obstacles when it comes to reading scripts and learning lines, twin staples of the actor’s craft. 

Stephen’s wife Hannah Walters, whom he has been married to since 2008, has offered her husband invaluable support, carefully vetting the scripts put before him and ensuring he makes the best decisions for his career.

‘I’m dyslexic, so I struggle,’ Stephen 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.’

The task becomes less challenging because the duo set up their personal production company, Matriarch Productions, back in 2020, providing them with resources to facilitate the project.

The partnership was established with the purpose of showcasing overlooked narratives and perspectives. This initiative led to the creation of the Bafta-nominated movie “Boiling Point” the next year. In this film, Hannah took on not only the role of executive producer but also acted in it.

As Stephen has revealed on Act on This, an online platform for TV actors, dealing with dyslexia necessitates a painstaking and methodological approach to his job. 

It is one he undertakes not only for personal reasons, but also out of a clear sense of collective responsibility to his colleagues.

‘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 Stephen.

This is a method we (Hannah and I) have come up with, and I know there are others who also practice 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.’

He continued@ ‘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.’

Speaking about her on-screen collaboration with Stephen in the BBC prison drama Time in 2021, Hannah said she landed the role by dint of their ‘quite good chemistry,’ adding that ‘it would have been shocking’ had they failed to deliver a convincing performance as husband-and-wife duo Eric and Sonia McNally.

Their real-life romance began not on a Hollywood set, but in the draughty drama halls of Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance, in Sidcup, Kent, where the couple first met while training as actors.

It was a connection that would only deepen over the years, particularly when they reunited professionally on This Is England in 2006. By then, their bond had strengthened, and just two years later, on June 6, 2008, they tied the knot.

And Stephen has always been his wife’s biggest fan.

During a recent online discussion about the 2021 prison drama “Time,” he enthusiastically shared his thoughts: “I remember watching Hannah during my days at drama school, and I’ve always believed she was exceptionally talented.

Speaking on the Graham Norton show last month, Stephen explained how Hannah was also key to getting the production of their other current streaming success on Disney+, the Victorian London crime and boxing drama, A Thousand Blows, off the ground as she presented the story to Peaky Blinders creator, Steven Knight, who was fascinated by the idea.

The couple decided to establish their home in Ibstock, Leicestershire, since it was near Hannah’s family. In this location, they are highly regarded by the community and reside in a humble four-bedroom semi-detached house that costs £450,000.

The showbiz pair were chosen to cut the ribbon at a newly reopened doctors’ surgery in the village, following a revamp two years ago.

As an avid fan, I can’t help but feel the excitement building as I watch episode one of this new series pull in a staggering 2.7 million viewers in just two days! It looks like adolescence is set to be the next big rating smash hit!

The audience is amazed by the psychological mini-series that received a flawless 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Its outstanding rating on review website has come from fans and critics alike praising its realistic portrayal of British society and its gripping plotline, with some even comparing it with Netflix’s 2024 triumph Baby Reindeer.

The series was filmed in South Kirkby, West Yorkshire, and the cast and crew were based at Production Park a studio facility near Wakefield, for six months last summer.

Additional scenes were shot at various locations, one of them being the Miller house, situated not far from the studio.

Top Boy actor Ashley Walters takes on the role of DI Luke Bascombe in the critically acclaimed four-part production, uniquely shot in nearly hour-long continuous single takes.

The opening two episodes of four track Jamie’s arrest and follow the efforts of DI Bascombe and DS Frank (Faye Marsay) in getting to the bottom of the stabbing.

In his role as executive producer, Stephen, aged 51, revealed that he conceived the show’s concept by observing the rising issue of violent knife crimes in the United Kingdom.

Joining Hannah in chatting to Chris Moyles on Radio X, the actor said: ‘Okay, let’s get this serious nature of the show out the way, and then we can have some fun, with all due respect.

When I came across an article detailing a tragic case of a young boy murdering a girl, it sent a chill down my spine.

After a few months, there was an article on the news that discussed a tragic event: a young boy had brutally murdered a young girl. To be completely honest, it deeply saddened me.

These two events occurred at opposite extremes of the nation, leaving me puzzled, wondering, “Why, why does this keep occurring?

I’m not simply stating this as a father, but anyone with a sense of right and wrong might ponder over such a scenario and wonder, “What’s transpiring? What’s the current state of our society?

Stephen added that the spate of stabbings was a sharp contrast to the world he grew up in.

He stated that we’re transitioning into an era where numerous tragic incidents have occurred, involving young males – whom I will refer to as young males, not adults – fatally stabbing females.

‘And, you know, that beautiful saying, “It takes a takes a village to raise a child”, I just wanted to create something that kind of looked at it from that perspective, but also looked at it like, look, maybe we are all slightly accountable in some way, be that parents, be that school, be that government, community, society.

Now, let me tell you honestly, as children back then, we didn’t enjoy the luxuries that you do today.

Nowadays, the internet plays an educating and nurturing role in our children’s lives as significant as ours. Have you caught my drift? That’s essentially what I meant.

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2025-03-18 16:12

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